A math teacher at Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science is one of three Mississippi finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science.
Lauren Zarandona stands to receive $10,000 and a trip to the nation”s capital for a presidential citation if she is chosen as the state”s top math teacher. She joins a list of several past nominees from MSMS.
Dr. Clyde Lindley, director of academic affairs at MSMS, says Zarandona”s nomination is extra impressive considering she”s only been teaching five years.
“Lauren is an outstanding teacher. She”s very innovative,” said Lindley.
He lists communication as her biggest asset in working with students and teachers, pointing to her participation with the MSMS cross-country team as an example of how she effectively relates to her students.
MSMS Executive Director Charles E. Brown says Zarandona”s strength is adapting her teaching style to her students” abilities.
“(She”s) one of those rare teachers who expertly shifts from working with students who already have excellent math skills to working with students who have holes in their math knowledge, but are still academically talented,” said Brown. “She helps both groups become academically successful, convinces them that they can and will do more complex tasks, and challenges them to think and reason their way through problems.”
Zarandona was recognized along with the other math and science finalists Feb. 19 at the Mississippi Department of Education in Jackson. A national panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians and educators will now select one math and one science teacher from each state.
The program is administered by the National Science Foundation on behalf of the White House.
Zarandona graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., with a Bachelor of Science in physics and later earned a master”s degree from the University of Mississippi. She is National Board Certified to teach math and physics.
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