Science teacher selected as a 2006 Presidential Award finalist

Kenneth Huff

Kenneth Huff, a science teacher from Mill Middle School in Williamsville, has been named a state finalist for the 2006 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the nation's highest honor for K-12 teaching in these fields.

Established by Congress in 1983, and administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation, the PAEMST program identifies outstanding mathematics and science teachers from each of the 50 states and four U.S. jurisdictions.

The jurisdictions are Washington, D.C. Puerto Rico, Department of Defense Schools, and the U.S. territories as a group (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Each state and jurisdiction can select up to three mathematics and three science teachers as state finalists. From this field of state finalists, a maximum of 108 Presidential awardees are selected. Recipients of the 2006 Presidential Awards will be announced during a week of celebratory events this spring in Washington, D.C.

"Recognition as a state level finalist comes with a tremendous degree of gratification," Huff said when he was named a state finalist.

Huff is one of the two science New York state finalists for the 2006 Presidential Award.

"My teaching style emphasizes students learning science through an active process. My goal is to move their thinking forward, creating experiences where learners confront new ideas and deepen their understandings, by involving students in inquiry-based investigations," he said.

Huff has taught at Mill Middle School since 1999.

Mill Middle School Principal, Michael Calandra stated, "I know you will not find a more deserving candidate for the Presidential Award from New York State than Kenneth. The necessary talents and character qualities that Ken possesses are evident to the students in his classroom, our school, and the entire community."

The 2006 Presidential Awardees teach kindergarten through sixth grade. Nominations and applications are currently being accepted for seventh through 12th grade teachers for the 2007 Presidential Awards. Nomination forms and instructions are available at www.paemst.org.

Awardees will receive a citation signed by President George W. Bush, a paid trip to Washington, D.C. to attend a weeklong series of recognition events and professional development opportunities, and $10,000 from the National Science Foundation.

"The Presidential Awards is one way of honoring outstanding teachers for the excellent work they do each year in helping to keep the United States competitive globally in mathematics and science," said Celestine H. Pea, program director of elementary, secondary, and informal education programs at the National Science Foundation. "They have the knowledge, skills, commitment, and determination to bring out the best in their students."