I am honored to be chosen for the Presidential Award. I dedicate this to the incredibly gracious educators I’ve worked with who have helped give me the voice and platform to make a difference. I’ve learned that the most important classroom characteristic for each student's ability to learn is a safe culture where learning is built from productive talk—where ALL students feel safe to share their questions and ideas and contribute to the classes' construction of knowledge. Pass it on.

Holly Hereau Redford, MI | 7-12, Science, 2019

The official biography below was current at the time of the award. For this awardee's latest biographical information, see their profile page.

Holly Hereau has worked as a science educator at BSCS in the Instructional Materials Development Division for the past five months. She spent the previous 14 years teaching high school science at Lee M. Thurston High School. She has also taught at Macomb Community College and Mott Community College. Holly develops Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-designed instructional materials for middle school and high school. She has worked with the NGSS storylines team at Northwestern University and inquiryHub at the University of Colorado, Boulder to design and help teachers implement biology and chemistry storylines. Holly’s students have planned and completed a wetland restoration project and have engaged in monitoring work with the Vernal Pool Patrol, Inland Seas, and the Rouge Education Project. Several grants, including the Dan Wolz Clean Water Education grant, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Planet Stewards Education Project grant, and the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism have helped support this work. As a Next Generation Science Exemplar (NGSX) system facilitator, a member of Achieve Inc.'s peer review panel for science, and an EQuIP Leader, Holly helps increase access to and implementation of clearly identified, high-quality NGSS-designed materials. She has presented at conferences and led professional development at the local, state, and national levels. In 2019, Holly was named the Michigan High School Science Teacher of the Year. Holly earned a B.S. in biology from Grand Valley State University and studied entomology with an emphasis in ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavior at Michigan State University before earning a M.A. in secondary education at the University of Michigan. She is certified in biology and chemistry.

Know a great teacher like Holly Hereau?