TMA continues to receive an outstanding number of nominations and applications for this program. The 2013 Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching received over 545 nominations and 255 applications.

TMA is currently evaluating our qualified applications for the 2013 program year.  Results will be available in April 2013. 

However, please nominate an Outstanding Science Teacher for the 2014 TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching. It's never too early to start thinking about this.

TMA encourages you to nominate exceptional science teachers for the 2013-14 school year.  Nominate more than one if you feel strongly about several teachers.  Self-nominations are also accepted and encouraged.

Let’s reward teachers who exhibit a personal commitment and enthusiasm for teaching any area of science!  Three Texas science teachers will receive $5,000 each!  Their schools will receive a $2,000 award!  Three additional science departments will receive $500 each for our second-place winners!

Nominations for this award are open through Oct. 19, 2013. Nominate someone today (PDF)! You can also nominate a teacher online.

Eligibility requirements include the following:

       * Texas state-certified, full-time public and private school science teachers with a minimum of two years’ classroom experience.
       * Teachers must be returning to teach in a Texas classroom during the 2014-15 school year.

Requirements of the application include:

        *  Completed application
        *  Educational History and Professional Development
        *  Letters of Support (3) - Supervisor, Colleague, and Student or Parent
        *  Professional Question Essays (2) - Professional Biography and Philosophy of Teaching
        *  Portfolio

TMA will contact all nominees, who then must complete and submit an application by Dec. 28, 2013. 

Congratulations to the 2012 Winners! 

The Texas Medical Association (TMA) awarded three Texas teachers the 2012 TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching. These first-place winners were recognized at TexMed, TMA’s annual meeting, held in Dallas. 

According to the National Science Foundation’s Science and Engineering Indicators 2010 report, only 23 percent of Texas eighth-graders and 25 percent of fourth-graders have achieved proficiency in science. The TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching strive to improve these dire statistics by recognizing innovative teachers.

First-place educators in elementary, middle school, and high school each receive a $5,000 cash prize and their school receives a $2,000 resource grant. Second-place winners’ schools receive a $500 resource grant.

“These dedicated educators help create the physicians of tomorrow by inspiring students of today with the possibilities available in the field of science,” said Michael E. Speer, MD, Houston, who became TMA President on May 19.

Finalists were determined by an 11-member team of science professionals who volunteered their time and curriculum expertise to the science teacher’s award program. The finalists are narrowed down by a special panel of the TMA Board of Trustees, the association’s governing board.

First-place winners are Paula Bagwell of Belmar Elementary School in Amarillo, Elizabeth Klammer of St. John’s Episcopal School in Dallas, and Matthew Wells of Cypress Lakes High School in Katy. Second-place winners are Jo Williams of Spicewood Elementary in Austin, Elizabeth Freeman of Westwood Junior High in Dallas, and Kimberly Beck of Seymour High School in Seymour.

The TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching are supported by the TMA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of TMA, thanks to an endowment established by Dr. and Mrs. Ernest C. Butler, of Austin, and gifts from major donors. For the eighth year, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has made a generous gift to the program. Other top donors to this year’s program are Potter-Randall County Medical Society and Gerard Joseph Ventura, MD, Nacogdoches.

 2012 STA Winners 
 
Pictured left to right: Matthew Wells of Cypress Lakes High School in Katy; Elizabeth Klammer of St. John's Episcopal School in Dallas; Paula Bagwell of Belmar Elementary School in Amarillo; Michael E. Speer, MD, TMA President. 

Meet the winners of the 2012 TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching: 

Paula Bagwell - Teaches fourth- and fifth-grade students at Belmar Elementary School in Amarillo. Her peers describe her as an innovative and dynamic teacher who uses creative, hands-on teaching methods to instill the love of science in her students. She is an enthusiastic teacher and mentor: "It is not difficult to go above and beyond when the job doesn't seem like a job at all. Teaching science is like that for me. It has overtaken me in such a way that it is a large part of what defines me as a person and a teacher. It is not long after that first day of school each year that my students have caught 'the science fever' from me." Both students and colleagues recall her lab to dissect the lens of a cow's eye. Several of Mrs. Bagwell's students sent letters of support, naming her as a beloved teacher who inspires the best in them.

Elizabeth Klammer - Each October Mrs. Klammer's 7th grade science class at St. John's Episcopal School in Dallas transforms into Pumpkin CSI. Students measure and carve pumpkins, then observe their decomposition. In another project, scientific elements come to live when Klammer's students create a superhero or villain, which they present on stage in full costume. A colleague describes Mrs. Klammer as full of energy and passionate about her subject.

Matthew Wells - Focuses on understanding his students, something he says is more important than understanding content. He encourages cooperative learning when teaching biology and environmental science at Cypress Lakes High School in Katy, a suburban Houston school district. "Science is by nature collaborative," says Wells, "and I believe students need to be taught how to work with people who are not necessarily like them." A former student recalled mock debates about environmental issues and the importance of learning to communicate effectively.

 Past Excellence in Science Teaching Award Winners 

Contact Information

For more information about the award and application process, please contact: 

Attn: Gail Schatte 
TMA Excellence in Science Teaching
401 W. 15th St.
Austin, Texas 78701-1680

(800) 880-1300, ext. 1600, or (512) 370-1600
E-mail: Gail Schatte 
 

To Donate

To make a tax-deductible donation to the TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching Program, visit the TMA Foundation. For more on the programs the foundation funds, contact Lisa Stark Walsh, TMA Foundation, at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1666, or (512) 370-1666.