Teacher Excellence Award Winners
These teachers were nominated each year, and announced during our annual Mathematics Educator Appreciation Day Conference (MEAD)!
Early Career Teachers : Teaching is not just a career, but it is also an art and a calling. Some teachers, early in their career, stand out as innovators, encouragers, and leaders. We wish to recognize those teachers new to teaching (1st 5 years) that are regularly taking risks, trying new ideas, learning from them, and eventually seeing success, as well as encouraging their colleagues to try new ideas and join them in these efforts.
Mid-Career & Veteran Teachers : Teachers are leaders from the classroom! Mid-career and Veteran teachers try new ideas and bring others along as they take risks and learn from those risks. They allow their classrooms to be fertile testing grounds for innovation, and their team meetings or interactions with other teachers can be a platform for encouraging others to join them in efforts to innovate. We wish to recognize these creative teachers.
2025 Award Winners

Elliot Beck
Congratulations to our Excellence & Resiliency in Mathematics Teaching: Early Career award winner, Elliot Beck! “He is diligently implementing practices from Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) with much success and recruiting other colleagues to join him in trying new ideas in teaching. His students are solving quadratic equations and can derive the quadratic formula with fluency using the innovative “Quadras Method” inspired by James Tanton. He almost fades into the background as his students transform into a well-oiled machine, eagerly building on each other’s ideas and reinforcing their thinking."

Rebecca Graseck
Congratulations to our Excellence & Resiliency in Mathematics Teaching: Mid-Career & Veteran Teachers award winner, Rebecca Graseck ! “Her classroom blends culturally relevant mathematics instruction with Building Thinking Classroom practices with strategies for a linguistically diverse classroom. She uses flexible seating, advanced organizers, and hands on activities in her classes. She was selected to model the implementation of Culturally Relevant Algebra teacher lesson study process due to her innovative practices that other teachers could learn from. Becky is also coordinating a district-wide initiative to limit the amount of district opted-in standardized tests because she believes in protecting instructional minutes.''
2024 Award Winners

Kathryn Manning
Congratulations to our Excellence & Resiliency in Mathematics Teaching: Early Career award winner, Kathryn Manning! “She connects with her students and builds strong relationships with them.” “She tries new techniques and ideas whenever she sees that her current method might not be as effective as she'd like. She is very data-driven and knows exactly where her students are struggling and what concepts they have mastered.” -Laura Herron, Colleague

Eric Jungbluth
Congratulations to our Excellence & Resiliency in Mathematics Teaching: Mid-Career & Veteran Teachers award winner, Eric Jungbluth! He “always looks for ways to help students making meaning of mathematics. He emphasizes productive struggle, group work, and reasoning skills. Students understand in his classroom that they all must learn from each other. Even students who previously felt unsuccessful in math flourish in his classroom and develop a sense of themselves as mathematicians.” -Tabetha Finchum, Administrator
2023 Award Winners

Kaela DeArmond
Congratulations to our Excellence & Resiliency in Mathematics Teaching: Early Career award winner, Kaela DeArmond! “She collaborates with her colleagues as well as school and District Math coaches. She is also willing to learn right along with the students. In her classroom, mistakes really are learning opportunities for everyone.” -Alison Bruening-Hamati, Principal

Lisa Johnson
Congratulations to our Excellence & Resiliency in Mathematics Teaching: Mid-Career & Veteran Teachers award winner, Lisa Johnson! “She is a leader that encourages others as easily as she shares and receives feedback on her own teaching skills. She serves on a leadership team ensuring that quality instruction is taking place in all of our classrooms.” -Dan Johnson, Principal
2022 Award Winners

Delia Sotelo O'Campo
Congratulations to our Excellence & Resiliency in Mathematics Teaching: Early Career award winner, Delia Sotelo O'Campo! “Ms. Sotelo looks for new and different ways to teach concepts, to capture all her students' learning styles. She differentiates her lessons and provides intervention support as needed...she truly is an innovator, encourager, and leader here at Mission View Elementary.” –Sandra Calkins, Administrator

Mabel Rivera
Congratulations to our Excellence & Resiliency in Mathematics Teaching: Mid-Career & Veteran Teachers award winner, Mabel Rivera! “Mabel Rivera is beyond exceptional in every way. Most notably, she embodies what it truly means to have students engage in meaningful, relevant, projected-based, integrated learning...She truly deserves this recognition as a role model for others and in recognition of the tremendous amount of time, effort, and passion she puts into her work.” –DaNel Hogan, Mentor.