The Presidential Award affirms my passion for and commitment to teaching and learning. I love the discussions in my classroom that are born from curiosity and an innate desire to learn. I work very hard to ensure that every student in my classroom has the opportunity to challenge and push themselves out of their cognitive comfort levels. The award is testament to my goal of providing authentic and engaged learning experiences for all of my students every day.

Jennifer Deenik Amherst, NH | 7-12, Science, 2013

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

Jenny Deenik has taught 10th grade Biology for 18 years at Souhegan High School. She is a lead facilitator and vision keeper for the Critical Friends Group program in her district. All faculty members at Souhegan meet once a month under the guidance of their coach to focus on student learning and engage in reflective dialogue (Jenny has been such a coach for 12 years) in order to create transformational learning experiences for all students.  Jenny is also the coordinator for the school-wide advisory program, which is designed to personalize the educational experience for students. She ensures that each advisor provides an authentic experience and that each student is supported by an adult. All of the members of her advisory program are also her classroom students. Jenny was selected by The Concord Consortium to pilot a genetics software program, which is an inquiry based program in which students learn about Mendelian and Non-Mendelian genetic concepts while breeding dragons. The students enjoy the challenge of applying their learning to solve the heredity problems that arise in their dragon flocks as they move along. This is but one example of how Jenny uses an inquiry and project -based approach to engage her students in authentic learning experiences. Jenny has a B.S. and M.S. in natural resources and a M.S. in secondary education from the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH.

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