The Presidential Award is one of the highest awards a teacher can receive. I am honored to have been chosen for this recognition. This award encourages me to continue to develop curriculums and skills to better educate my students. I am continually amazed at the interest students have in science when concepts are taught through their life experiences. I thank all those involved in making this award possible.

Suzanne O'Brien Macomb, MI | K-6, Science, 2008

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

Suzanne O'Brien has taught fifth grade at Fox Elementary School for the past 13 years. She serves on the district's Science Curriculum Council as cochair with other teacher representatives from grades K-12. The council plans the curriculum according to the State of Michigan's Grade Level Content Expectations. The curriculum will be implemented after approval from the Chippewa Valley Board of Education. Her success in this capacity is attributed to her broad range of leadership skills. Mrs. O'Brien is known for providing a safe learning environment for all her students through the use of hands-on activities, cooperative group work, questioning strategies, motivational games, experimentation, demonstrations, special speakers, computer tutorials, and the integration of electronic and print science research and writing. Mrs. O'Brien's classroom is filled with student work that demonstrates the products of their learning. To increase her own knowledge and practice, Mrs. O'Brien continues to enroll in workshops and college courses. Students, colleagues, and other teachers benefit from her ability to acquire science grants, her willingness to present at science conferences, and her team teaching skills. Since 2001 Mrs. O'Brien has been an Investigation Leader for the annual Family Science Night. She has served as a member of the Science Content Advisory Committee of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program since 2004. Mrs. O'Brien has a B.S. from Mercy College of Detroit in dietetics and an M.A.T. in science from Wayne State University. She received the Walter P. Chrysler Closing the Technology Gap in Education gold award in 2007 and was also a finalist for the award in 2006. Mrs. O'Brien is certified in kindergarten through fifth grade science and social studies by the Michigan Department of Education.

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