Spain Park science teachers win national instruction awards
Two teachers from Spain Park High School and Berry Middle School were recently recognized as 2019 national winners of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in Washington, D.C.
A second teacher from Spain Park High was also named as one of five 2019 state finalists from Alabama and will be considered for the national award in the future.
Kristin Bundren, who teaches ninth-grade pre-Advanced Placement biology at Spain Park High School, and Kevin Pughsley, a sixth-grade earth science teacher at Berry Middle School, were among four teachers from Alabama and 215 nationally selected as 2019 national winners.
The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is the highest award given by the U.S. government to kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers of math and science, including computer science.
Teachers are selected based on their distinction in the classroom and dedication to improving science, technology, engineering and math education.
The award recognizes teachers who have both deep content knowledge of the subjects they teach and the ability to motivate and enable students to be successful in those areas. Since the program’s inception in 1983, more than 4,800 teachers have been recognized for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession.
Bundren was a state finalist for the award in 2017, and Pughsley was a state finalist in 2018.
Bundren has been an educator for 12 years and has spent all of those at Spain Park High. She uses teaching strategies that incorporate various learning styles to meet the differentiated needs of her students, and students are challenged in her classroom through lessons where they carry out investigations, develop models and analyze data.
Bundren works to increase scientific thinking by using argument-driven inquiry to allow opportunities for problem solving, discussion and explanation. She has served as chairwoman of the science department at her school and as an engaged learning facilitator and member of the curriculum development team for the Hoover school district. She has presented at regional and national conferences on differentiated teaching, formative assessment, technology and scientific argumentation.
Bundren earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary science education from Auburn University. She is certified in general science and was certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in adolescent and young adulthood science.
Pughsley has been an educator for 12 years. Before coming to Berry Middle School, he spent 10 years teaching at Calera Middle School in the Shelby County school system.
He surveys his students every nine weeks, asking them to provide feedback on his effectiveness as a teacher, their interest in future labs and how they value the activities completed to date. This surveying practice has inspired fellow teachers at the school to incorporate student surveys into their classrooms to gain feedback and improve effectiveness, school officials said.
Over the past few years, Pughsley has led and planned field trips to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each trip allows more than 100 sixth-grade students to gain firsthand experience and the ability to connect with the material they have studied throughout the year, especially as it relates to space exploration.
As a consultant for A-Plus College Ready, Pughsley writes curriculum and teaches summer sessions to earth science teachers across Alabama. The program’s goal is to foster an innovative culture for teachers and to equip and empower them to expect more.
Pughsley earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in education from Samford University. He is a certified elementary school teacher.
2019 STATE FINALIST
Pamela Harman, another science teacher at Spain Park, was named one of five 2019 state finalists from Alabama in the secondary (grades 7-12) level.
Harman has been teaching high school science for 22 years. She began her teaching career at Hoover High School in 1997 and has taught at Spain Park since 2002. She was named the 2007-08 Alabama Teacher of the Year.
Harman served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1987-91 and put herself through school. She earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a master’s degree in geosciences from Mississippi State University and a doctorate in teacher leadership from Walden University. Harman also is certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.