School of Education announces Martha Lee and Bill Armstrong Teacher Educators

The School of Education announced six Martha Lea and Bill Armstrong Teacher Educators. All are Indiana public school teachers and will be a part of professional development opportunities as well as work with IU faculty and students in multiple ways including courses, panel discussions and research projects.

“Having these outstanding teachers engaged in the life of the School of Education in such a meaningful way is a tremendous asset to the preparation of future teachers and our academic mission in general,” said Gerardo Gonzalez, dean of the IU School of Education in an IU press release.

The Armstrong Educators were chosen by IU faculty and former recipients of the award. Nominations were based on outstanding teachers and school leadership as well as serve as mentors for those pursuing a degree in education. The winners for the 2010-11 school year are:

Barbara Andrews is an art teacher at New Palestine High School. She has served as a new teacher mentor and on the Art Education Association of Indiana. “I want to inspire my students to become creative problem solvers and life-long learners,” Andrews said in the release.

Kristen Poindexter is a kindergarten teacher at Spring Mill Elementary. She is one of six science coaches in Washington Township and won the 2008 Indianapolis Power and Light award. “I think I do a good job of incorporating science into everything I do, and I’m excited about it,” Poindexter said in the release and added that she wants to emphasize to undergraduate students that kindergarten is not too early to add science in the curriculum.

Renee Strietelmeier is a Language Proficiency Teacher for grades kindergarten through fifth at Jackson Elementary. She has worked to strengthen English as a Second Language programs and was recognized by the Indiana Department of Education for outstanding work with ESL students.

Natalie Hatton is a second grade and Reading Recovery teacher at Crestdale Elementary School. Working with IU, she has created programs for her students using photography and has integrated science and literacy through a study of trees.

Stacy McCormack is a physics teacher at Penn High School. She is the author of Teacher Friendly Physics and was a U.S. representative at a high school teachers conference in the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
“It is my hope that I will be able to work with future science teachers to help them learn how to create guided inquiry lab experiences in all subject areas using the equipment they will have available in their first classroom,” she said in the release.

John Kruggel is a teacher of U.S. history and world history as well as Asian studies at Brownsburg High School. He has been a mentor to a Chinese exchange teacher and has also traveled to China to create an exchange program with a Chinese school. He said he mixes old and new when teaching history courses to students.
“I think they get more out of it if you’re able to link the past to more modern times,” he said in the release.

— MJ Slaby