• Sarah Villarreal, of Corpus Christi, graduated from Cornell University and will attend Baylor College of Medicine in the fall. She plans to practice medicine in the predominate- ly low-income areas of South Texas and give back to the community by providing compassionate health care. Ms. Villarreal’s scholarship was pro- vided through gifts from Wendell D. Daniels, MD, Longview, in honor of Vester Daniels and in memory of Ona Daniels; Donald Johnson, MD, and Mrs. Doris A. Johnson, Roanoke; and physicians and their families.
TMA honors outstanding science teachers
TMA awarded three Texas teachers the 2011 TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teach- ing at TexMed 2011. According to the National Science
Foundation’s Science and Engineering Indicators 2010 report, only 23 percent of Texas eighth graders and 25 percent of fourth graders have achieved profi- ciency in science. The TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in
Science Teaching represent an effec- tive strategy to improve these numbers by recognizing innovative teachers and providing them the resources they need to continue motivating students. These dedicated educators help to create the physicians of tomorrow by inspiring stu- dents with the possibilities available in the field of science. Applicants went through a two-stage evaluation process. First, finalists were determined by a 12-member Charles A. Dana Center science team from The Uni- versity of Texas who volunteered their time and curriculum expertise to TMA’s program. The Dana Center advocates high educational standards and supports programs that support all students’ mas- tery of these standards. A special panel of the TMA Board of Trustees conducted the second stage of judging. TMA awards each of the following re- cipients a $5,000 cash prize, and their school receives a $2,000 school resource grant.
Elementary School: Heather Fleming Ms. Fleming teaches fifth-grade students at Summitt Elementary School in Austin. Her peers describe her as an innovative and dynamic teacher who uses creative,
hands-on teaching methods to instill the love of science in her students. One of Ms. Fleming’s programs, Sci- ence Buddies, prepares students to be role models and teachers. The program allows fifth graders to demonstrate their knowledge of science by teaching les- sons to younger classes. When asked by people what she does, Ms. Fleming said. “I teach science, and I love it!” She has a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Abilene Christian University.
Middle School: Susan Harsh The teachers and administrators who nominated Susan Harsh say she is a self- motivated teacher always looking for ways to get her students excited about learning.
Ms. Harsh is currently the department chair for seventh and eighth grade sci- ence at Little Cypress Junior High School in Orange; however, she will begin the 2011 school year at Bridge City Middle School. She sponsors the school’s robot- ics team and University Interscholastic League science club. She participates in Lamar University’s Bringing Scientists into the Schools program, which allows students to go to the university and work with college professors to do labs. “I love science, and I love sharing it
even more,” said Ms. Harsh. She has a master’s degree in secondary education from Lamar University.
High School: Timothy Daponte, EdD Dr. Daponte encourages his students to throw watermelons off the school roof and bowl in the hallways to learn scien- tific principles. Students and colleagues say the 11th-grade physics teacher at Houston’s John H. Reagan High School prefers imaginative lessons as part of his unconventional approach to teaching. The decision to teach was an easy one for Dr. Daponte, a Fulbright scholar.
Carolyn Evan, MD, left, then-chair of the TMA Board of Trustees, congratulates the three 2010–11 Ernest and Sarah Butler Excellence in Science Teaching Award winners. From left to right are Heather Fleming, Timothy Daponte, and Susan Harsh, and TMA Foundation Vice President Russell Kridel, MD. Dr. Evans said these outstanding science teachers “are on the front lines instilling a love of science in the cadre of students who will become the physicians of the future.”
16 TEXAS MEDICINE July 2011
“There is no other profession that is di- rectly responsible for the quality of the next generation,” he said. Dr. Daponte holds a doctor of education degree from the University of Houston.
The TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler
Awards for Excellence in Science Teach- ing are supported by the TMA Founda-
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