One of my driving passions as an educator has always been to touch the lives of my students in some positive fashion every day. My greatest hope is that in some small way they will be better off because I believed in them and challenged them to reach far beyond what they thought was possible. The Presidential Award is truly an honor, a validation of the importance of my life's work. To be honored with this award is humbling, but also challenging, as I must never become complacent in this endeavor.

Carol Pleninger Havre, MT | 7-12, Science, 2011

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

Carol Pleninger has been teaching science classes at Havre High School for 17 years. She taught Biology and Freshman Physical Science before taking over as the chemistry teacher. She has been teaching Chemistry and Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry for the past 13 years.  Within her district, Carol has served on the Principal’s Advisory Team and the Faculty Awards Committee. Carol's promotion of quality science education extends beyond her district. She is Treasurer of the Montana Science Teachers Association, the High School Liaison to the Montana chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS), and State Coordinator for the ACS Chemistry Olympiad. She has been an AP Chemistry Exam Reader for the past 4 years and has presented at regional workshops and the State teachers' convention. Carol received the 2007 Siemens Foundation Excellence Award for AP Teachers for the State of Montana. She was her district’s Teacher of the Year in 2009 and a State finalist for Montana Teacher of the Year in 2010. Carol has a B.S. in chemistry (teaching option) with a biology minor from Montana State University-Bozeman and an M.S.Ed. in learning development from Montana State University-Northern. She is a certified grades 5-12 teacher with endorsements in chemistry, biology, and broadfield science.

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