Outstanding STEM Educator

For the first time we are honored a group of teachers as the Outstanding STEM Educator. Sabina Sully, Serena Harris, Mary-Colleen McKenna, Laura Koler, and Susana Reyes all teach at PattersonPark Public Charter School in Baltimore City.

The school has hosted Family Science or FamilyEngineering Night every year for over a decade. It is not customary for a school to incorporate visits and supplementary programs at the Maryland Science Center for five different grades in one school year. Recognition for extending the impact and inspiration of our afterschool outreach program with the STEM experiences we maintain in-house on such a notable scale is the basis of this award.

Kristine Zwerlein-Rose obtained a joint degree – BA, Cum Laude in Health and Human Services and Psychology from SUNY at Buffalo. She earned her Master of Social Work degree, Cum Laude at New York University. She is being honored for her role in 2020-2023 as Saturday SchoolProgram Director at Furman L. Templeton Preparatory Academy, a public school in Baltimore City.

This Saturday Academy supports students, teachers and parents with an educational program involving community partners to provide instruction in science, art, and dance. Ms. Zwerlein-Rose turned to the Maryland Science Center and its Traveling Science Program as the source for science activities. TSP staff and materials visited the school on Saturdays providing students within formal STEM lessons and modeling those instructional techniques for parents and teachers.

Daisy Rayela, STEM Coordinator and STEM Educator at Thomas Johnson Middle School in Lanham, shows an amazing level of advocacy in promoting and advancing the cause of quality science. Her submitted lesson plan demonstrates the best of what and how students learn and reveals a deep understanding of how to develop the skills and understandings needed to support a complex process. She provides training in afterschool clubs, helping to expand student experiences in STEM areas and STEM careers. She also organizes and provides training for Prince George’s County teachers.

She has cultivated relationships between STEM professionals, students and parents and encourages students to get involved in STEM programs outside of the school day, creating situations for students to interact with a wide range of STEM professionals through field trips and inviting professionals into her classroom