The award is a tremendous honor. The appreciation, awe, and exhilaration I feel are unparalleled by anything I have encountered in my professional career. I am deeply appreciative of this recognition. To be a part of discovery with children, to facilitate their journey and give them room to think for themselves, is the finest work I know. This award will inspire, motivate, and invigorate me to continue learning avidly and teaching passionately as well as serve as an illumination for the future.

Suzanne Pilon Hilton, NY | K-6, Science, 2008

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

Suzanne Pilon teaches a first and second grade inclusion class at Quest Elementary School, an International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program. She teaches science and mathematics, in addition to other subjects. She also teaches six IB planners (four- to six-week plans) on multidisciplinary global themes. She has been in her current position in the Hilton Central School District for the past 14 years. Mrs. Pilon's professional service contributions include Teacher Leader for the Investigating Science program, Child Study Team Grade Level Leader, Technology Committee Representative, Administrative Team member, and Parent-Teacher-Student Organization Team Representative. Mrs. Pilon is known as an exceptional educator with a special ability to motivate children. She uses inquiry to engage students in science lessons. She draws on resources ranging from technological materials to the environment to encourage students to explore and generate ideas and questions. She expands her students' personal and intellectual development through such activities as creek walks; remote camera observation of a nesting falcon; visits to a birds-of-prey migration site; and nurturing fish, reptiles, and insects in ecosystems that she creates in the classroom. In addition to a daily science workshop, Mrs. Pilon weaves science into other subjects. She has applied science to life lessons by teaching the children how to make soap, then advertise and sell it to help a Quest Elementary School family facing difficulties due to illness. This successful, ongoing fundraiser taught students about states of matter, energy, heat, units of measure, and scientific documentation. Mrs. Pilon has pursued many professional development activities. Her awards include District Teacher of the Year for Quest School of Choice, grant funding for the "Cycles of Salmon Creek" transcurricular study, and a school bus provided by a manufacturer for use as a traveling science classroom. Mrs. Pilon has a B.S. in psychology and an M.S. in elementary education from The College at Brockport, State University of New York.

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