The Presidential Award represents a desire to never stop learning. In order to best prepare our students, we need to be willing to constantly live is a state of preparation ourselves, always wanting to better understand our content, better understand our students, and better understand our teaching, so that our students always have the very best that we can offer them. This award represents my commitment to students, to my fellow teachers, and to my school.

Erika Klose Winfield, WV | 7-12, Science, 2017

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

Erika Klose spent 11 years teaching seventh-grade Science at Winfield Middle School. She recently joined the West Virginia Department of Education as the K12 Technology Integration Coordinator for STEM and Computer Science. 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.

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