Receiving the Presidential Award is an incredible honor and recognition of striving to be a more effective teacher. This award also recognizes my supportive family, the many students and colleagues who have taught me so much, and a school committed to progress and excellence. It attests to the benefits of professional development in a teacher’s career and is a platform for thanking those who initiated quality professional development in science so that teachers like myself could gain expertise.

Margaret Howells Wheeling, WV | K-6, Science, 2016

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Margaret Howells has been an educator for 30 years, teaching multiple subjects at the elementary and middle school levels. She is in her 10th year at Wheeling Country Day School, where she teaches all subjects for third grade and serves as the school’s Dean of Students. Margaret strives to infuse the multi-subject curriculum with scientific thought, inquiry, and a sense of curiosity. She is passionate beyond the constructs of the classroom and school calendar. During the summer, two weeks are spent at a nearby stream teaching “Creek Week.” She leads students in second through sixth grades in investigations involving stream health, water quality, geology, and biodiversity. Margaret is an instructor of preservice elementary teachers. She models the real life application of science methods and materials, has the student teachers develop lesson plans, and observes and instructs as they work with her third grade students. As an Orton Gillingham trained educator, Margaret tutors in mathematics and reading in the school’s Center for Multisensory Learning. She uses a variety of hands-on materials to build a student’s conceptual understanding from the concrete to the abstract. She earned B.A. degrees, cum laude, in elementary education and art education from West Liberty University. She holds professional teaching certificates in elementary education and in art education.

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