Clark Magnet Teacher Honored with National Fellowship

teacher Dominique Evans-Bye was recently named as one of 10 recipients of the Society for Science and the Public's 2011 fellowships for math and science teachers across the nation.

As a fellow, Evans-Bye will receive an $8,500 grant to use in her classroom. She will also fly to Washington in July to participate in the Fellow Institute and receive ongoing training and resources from SSP.

In an interview with Patch, Evans-Bye said she is "really excited" and added that she is "always looking for ways to improve, and this fellowship is going to give me the tools to do that, with training and funding."

Evans-Bye looks forward to using the funds to engage students with more field trips and further student research (past field trips have include such interactive projects as conducting marine surveys on Channel Islands boat trips).

"I really stress the science standards and try to get them to do well on the state tests, but those standards are so dry," she said. "That's not biology; biology is getting out and experiencing it."

Her consistent goal is to "get more of the kids involved" and strives to build their excitement, noting that "they'll remember [the experiences in her classroom] all their lives." 

Evans-Bye, who has been teaching for 13 years, is no stranger to recognition: She was the teacher who led Clark Magnet's "Eco Saver" student team in the finals of the Lexus Eco Challenge, an educational contest for environmental action (read Patch's coverage ), winning $10,000 this year. Her students also won the respective "Climate Challenge," pulling in another $10,000.

With all this support comes a lot of opportunity for Evans-Bye's students, for which Evans-Bye and Clark Magnet are thrilled!