Congratulations to Carol Pleninger and Tammy Johnson, Montana’s two new national presidential awardees for science & math teaching.

The prestigious Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the nation’s highest honor for U.S. mathematics and science teachers in grades 7 through 12.

The current national award winners for Montana are:

Carol Pleninger, Science, Havre High School
Tammy Johnson, Math, Stevensville High School

A committee of Montana science and math teachers, all previous national awardees, selected Pleninger and Johnson from a pool of 23 applicants statewide. A national panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians, and educators verified the selection.

These two Montana teachers traveled to Washington, DC, June 27-29 to be honored along with the nation’s other national awardees.

PAEMST awardees display outstanding expertise and effectiveness in math and science teaching. They devote significant time to professional development, incorporate innovative approaches into their classroom teaching, and use technology to improve student learning.

Finalists must complete a rigorous application process that incorporates video footage of classroom lessons, along with substantial written documentation of impacts on student achievement.

Each teacher selected as a Presidential Awardee receives a $10,000 award, a Presidential citation, and a trip to Washington, D.C. for a series of recognition events, information exchange programs, and an awards ceremony.

Nationally, the awards program is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House.  In Montana, the state recognition program is sponsored and administered by the Montana Professional Teaching Foundation in association with the Montana Association of Presidential Awardees.

The Montana Professional Teaching Foundation was created in 1996 to promote and reward quality teaching and learning in Montana.