Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) – Science
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) awards are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science teaching. Teachers are selected based on their distinction in the classroom and dedication to improving science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.
2024 West Virginia State Finalists for PAEMST – Grades K-6 Science Educators
Faith Harper – Little Birch Elementary School, Braxton County, WV
Faith Harper is an elementary teacher with 13 years of experience. She teaches fourth grade at Little Birch Elementary School in Braxton County where she has worked for the last eight years. Faith holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education, Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, and a Master of Arts degree in Science Education from Western Governor’s University. She is currently pursuing National Board Certification in Middle Childhood.
At LBE, Faith serves on her school’s leadership team and as faculty senate president. She was the 2022 Braxton County Teacher of the Year, has worked as her county’s 4th grade PLC Coordinator, and has served as her school’s LSIC president and PTO Treasurer. She is a member of the West Virginia Science Teachers Association where she collaborated with other WV elementary teachers to present at the 2023 state conference as part of the state’s first team of WV Elementary Science Ambassadors. Other memberships include the National Science Teaching Association, and American Federation of Teachers.
Megan Lynch – Union Elementary, Upshur County, WV
Megan Lynch has been an educator for six years, spending four years in Barbour County and two years in Upshur County. In Barbour County, she taught fifth grade at Philippi Middle School. She also taught first and second grade at Philippi Elementary School. Now she teaches first grade at Union Elementary School in Upshur County.
Megan is constantly finding a way to tie STEM in with her day-to-day teaching. Her favorite way to connect STEM with other standards is through read alouds. Bringing the read alouds to life through a connected activity really engages her students. Megan also seeks different ways to bring STEM into the classroom through free programs such as WVU StemCare or the Upshur County WVU Extension Office. In her spare time, she volunteers with the Upshur County WVU Extension Office, creating meaningful lessons that bring STEM to the community through camps and activities. Megan is also a member, as well as an elementary ambassador, of the West Virginia Science Teachers Association. Megan has shared her love of science through the WVSTA conference. She also shares her ideas with colleagues on ways to incorporate science standards into their reading and math curricula through county-wide planning days.
Megan earned her B.A. in Elementary Education and her M.A. in Literacy Education from Marshall University. She is certified in K–6 elementary education and as a reading specialist.
Heather Puglisi – Warwood Elementary, Ohio County, WV
Heather Puglisi is an elementary teacher with 10 years’ experience working for Ohio County Schools. Heather currently teaches second Grade at Warwood Elementary where she is a mentor teacher and a science fair coordinator. Heather graduated with a Bachelor’s in Multi-Disciplinary Studies and a Masters in Elementary Education from West Virginia University.
Heather teaches with an integrated studies approach, combining science and language arts. She has worked with a National Science Teaching Association/Children’s Book Choice Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children author, Jennifer Keats Curtis, to provide students with her books about a variety of animals. Students built animal habitats and wrote essays on what they learned. Students then got the opportunity to virtually present them to the award-winning author. This is one of many lessons that Heather uses to connect reading and writing with science curriculum.
Heather values being a lifelong learner. She has continued her own education by becoming a National Board-Certified Teacher and attending teaching conferences statewide. She was also named a West Virginia Public Broadcasting Above and Beyond Teacher. Heather has earned several grants for her classroom including STEM grants and family night grants where she shares her love of combining science and reading. Students and their families participate in activities that they can also do at home. Heather partnered with the Ohio County Public Library to bring their science Fun Lab Youth Services Specialist to a family night to connect students with community resources for free learning opportunities during the summer months. Her goal is for students to continue their love for exploring and learning in and out of the school building.
West Virginia Educators Recognized for Excellence in Teaching
2023 PAEMST Winner Grades 7-12 is Alicen Adkins – Moorefield Middle School, Hardy County, WV
Alicen Adkins is a middle school science teacher with nine years of teaching experience. Alicen holds an Associate of Science degree in Nuclear Medicine Technology, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Science Education from Fairmont State University and is pursuing a Master of Education from Fairmont State University. She is a Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist and a previous employee of the NASA Educator Resource Center in Fairmont, WV. She currently teaches sixth and seventh grade science at Moorefield Middle School in Hardy County, WV.
Alicen serves many roles within her school, community, state, and beyond. She started a FIRST robotics program in Hardy County, which has grown from one team in 2018 to include sixteen robotics teams and a coding club including students from first through twelfth grades. The program boasts national and international awards such as the Core Values 2 Award from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute International Invitational and Gracious Professionalism Award from American Robotics Invitational. Alicen serves as head coach or assistant coach for all the teams. She is one of the Moorefield Middle School (MMS) Digital Media Coordinators, a member of the MMS leadership team, a member of the MMS and Hardy County Schools (HCS) Hiring Committees, is the MMS and HCS Science Fair Coordinator, Moorefield High School Pulsar Search Collaboratory Advisor, the previous National Junior Honor Society Advisor, and the HCS STEM Contact. She started the Moorefield Family Science Night initiative for which she is the coordinator. She has served roles with WVDE for curriculum, assessment, and standards reviews, and served as a teacher for the WV Governor’s STEM Institute. At the national level, she has done consulting work for NSTA and Houghton Milton Harcourt. Alicen’s professional associations include WVSTA, NSTA, ASCD, NAGT, CS First, and more.
Alicen is passionate about self-improvement and professional development, and attributes much of her success to quality PD opportunities such as the ESS Passport Program and conferences such as WVSTA and GYTO. To that end, she co-founded Umbrella STEM, which provides STEM professional development, activities, and resources for K-12 teachers. Alicen has been honored with many awards, some of which include MMS Teacher of the Year 2019, the 2019 and 2020 Spirit of Hardy County Award, the 2020 NAGT Outstanding Earth Science Teacher for WV, the Golden Apple Award for Educational Excellence, the 2015 Stark Wilmoth Outstanding Student Teacher Award, and was part of a team that received a NASA Project Achievement Award for Excellence in Robotics Education in 2014. In her own words, her greatest joy and duty is to provide fun, authentic opportunities for students to develop the confidence and skills necessary to unlock their fullest potential.
2021 PAEMST Winner Grades 7-12 is Renee Haines – Martinsburg High School, Berkeley County, WV
Renee Haines is a science teacher with 14 years of experience at Martinsburg High School in Berkeley County, WV. A National Board Certified Teacher, Mrs. Haines holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master of Arts in Secondary Education from West Virginia University. At MHS, Mrs. Haines teaches 10th through 12th-grade students in life sciences, including biology, biology honors, microbiology, Advanced Placement biology, and WVU dual enrollment biology courses. She strives to establish a student-driven classroom focused on meeting the needs of all learners. Outside the classroom, Mrs. Haines supports pre-service teachers, colleagues, and administration by serving in leadership positions and presenting professional development sessions. Serving as chair on the Local School Improvement Council, Mrs. Haines seeks to engage staff, students, and the community to improve school climate and student performance.
As an advisor to the Science National Honor Society (SNHS), Mrs. Haines conducts a Traveling Science Show with local Kindergarten through 8th-grade students to encourage a love for science and discovery. Through the pandemic, she developed Virtual STEM Day with SNHS students hosting elementary students for an afternoon of science fun to continue this endeavor. Mrs. Haines finds joy in watching students discover the possibilities of science and marvel at the wonders of the world.
2020 PAEMST Winner Grades K-6 Science is Tiffany Pace From Cross Lanes Elementary, Kanawha County, WV
Tiffany Pace has been an educator for 10 years with Kanawha County Schools and at the time of her award was a third grade teacher at Weberwood Elementary School. She has also taught at J.E. Robins, Lakewood, Montrose, and Alum Creek Elementary Schools and has been an instructor at the Governor’s School for Math and Science and a fourth grade teacher for the West Virginia Virtual School.
Tiffany’s passion for STEM education and global awareness can be seen through her partnership with a third grade classroom at the AngloAmerican School in Managua, Nicaragua. To create a global connection, students video conferenced to compare climates and share photos and stories of our local environments and the habitats around us. To share her STEM experiences with peers, Tiffany has presented at the NSTA National Conference in St. Louis and the NSTA STEM20 Virtual Conference. She has also authored articles and is a reviewer for the NSTA Science and Children journal. Tiffany is a National Geographic Certified Educator, Underwood-Smith Scholars Mentor, NSTA member, West Virginia Science Teachers Association member, DonorsChoose Advocate, and a Fuel Up to Play 60 Advisor. She is a member of her county’s World Cultures and Diversity Cadre and Professional Staff Development.
As a grant writer, she has written and received over $400,000 in grants for educational supplies, STEM materials, technology, gardening materials, healthy eating and physical activity supplies, community outreach programs, and professional development. Tiffany earned her B.S. in public relations and journalism from West Virginia University and her M.A. in education from Liberty University. She is a certified West Virginia teacher with a permanent license in Elementary Education pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.
2019 PAEMST winner for Science Grades 6-12 is Dr. Angela McKeen from Notre Dame High School, Jackson County, WV
Dr. Angela McKeen has taught in public and private schools for 11 years and taught in higher education for six years. She spent the past five years at Notre Dame High School, where she teaches Honors Physics, Earth and Space Science, Advanced Placement Environmental Science, and 7th Grade Science. Angela worked as a science instructor and science coordinator at St. Mary’s Central School for four years. She began her career at Valley High School, teaching science and English for three years.
Angela’s enthusiasm for the natural world is reflected in her yearly science camps. While working with disadvantaged youth in rural West Virginia, Angela began running her own science camps. Angela’s excitement for teaching science and her active participation in all levels of science education have made her an excellent professional development provider. Her dissertation explored teaching science using aspects of the arts in rural Appalachian classrooms. Angela presented to the Maryland Higher Education Consortium at Johns Hopkins University with a colleague on using trade books to teach science content at the university level. Angela earned her B.A. in secondary education at Fairmont State University and her M.A. in science education at West Virginia University (WVU). She also holds a doctorate in curriculum & instruction from WVU. Angela is certified in chemistry, earth and space science, general science, and English and Language Arts.
2018 PAEMST winner for K-6, Science is Jaime Pettit from Moundsville Middle School
Jaime Pettit has been an educator for 12 years and has spent the last 10 years at Moundsville Middle School (MMS). She is currently the sixth-grade science teacher and previously taught at St. Michael Parish School for two years.
Jaime is a firm believer in hands-on, inquiry-based science education. Her students have the opportunity to learn science in her classroom by doing science and participating in activities to pursue new knowledge. Jaime is the science club advisor and science fair coordinator for MMS where she has had a student reach the international science fair two years in a row. Jaime is also a mentor to new teachers and student teachers.
Jaime shares her love of science with colleagues around the state by presenting at state conferences, training teachers on new science curriculum, and helping to coordinate her county’s professional development days.
Jaime earned her B.A. in elementary education from West Liberty State College, and a M.A. in elementary education from West Virginia University. She also holds her administration certification from West Virginia University and post-master’s certificates in leadership & accountability and curriculum and instruction from Capella University. Jaime is currently finishing her Ed.D in curriculum and instruction. She is certified in elementary education and general science.
To learn more about the PAEMST recognition, visit the paemst.org. For information about nominating a West Virginia science teacher for the PAEMST award, visit The Award Process Overview or contact WV PAEMST Coordinator Dr. Deb Hemler.
2017 PAEMST winner for 7-12, Science is Erika Klose of Winfield, WV
Erika Klose spent 11 years teaching seventh-grade Science at Winfield Middle School. She is currently the Assistant Director in the Office of Middle and Secondary Learning for the West Virginia Department of Education. She is excited to widen her reach and impact all West Virginia students.
While in the classroom, she presented engaging, student-centered lessons, incorporating technology and focusing on hands-on experiments that encouraged students to own their learning. Erika’s love of science, however, goes well beyond the classroom. A trained geologist, she worked for the U.S. Geological Survey in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, before entering education.
Erika’s students won $10,000 for classroom technology during the first ever Hour of Code and consistently brought home awards from school-wide and county STEM fairs. She coordinated activities for her school to experience science, such as an event about women in STEM, which included U.S. Senator Shelly Moore Capito, and Toyota, a large local employer. Erika is the President of the West Virginia Science Teachers Association. She earned a B.A. in geology from Smith College, an M.S. in geological sciences from Lehigh University, and an M.A. in teaching from Marshall University. Erika is a National Board Certified Teacher and holds certifications in general science and earth and space science.