Alumna receives presidential teaching award

Liberty University alumna Jaunine Fouché recently received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching from President Barack Obama. Fouche was one of 213 K-12 teachers selected from more than 10,000 applicants from across the country.

The award is the highest honor for teachers of mathematics and science in the U.S. Since the early 1980s, more than 4,400 teachers have been recognized by the president for their dedication to their classrooms. Every year, winners are selected by a panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians, and educators.

“The recipients of this award are integral to ensuring our students are equipped with critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are vital to our nation’s success,” Obama said in a White House press release. “As the United States continues to lead the way in the innovation that is shaping our future, these excellent teachers are preparing students from all corners of the country with the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills that help keep us on the cutting edge.”

Fouché earned her degree in educational leadership in 2011 and her Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction in 2013 from Liberty’s School of Education (SOE). She currently serves as an external research consultant and dissertation chair in the SOE.

The award recognized Fouché for her work at Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pa., where, at the time of the application, she taught astronomy and earth/environmental systems to high school students. The lesson she submitted for the award was on the interpretation of evidence for the presence of dark matter. Fouché has since been promoted to pre-K-12 grade science curriculum supervisor. The private school offers free education to more than 2,000 children from lower income homes in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

“My education at Liberty University gave me the background needed to achieve the goals in my current position,” she said. “It also gave me access to the research I needed to seek a degree that would empower me to design and create curriculum.”

In addition to her award, Fouché received $10,000 from the National Science Foundation and was invited to Washington, D.C., in August for an awards ceremony, where she had the opportunity to visit with members of the president’s administration.

“I feel honored and privileged to be selected for this award,” she said. “I have the opportunity to influence the science curriculum and the authentic engagement of science for students. I also have the ability to influence the assessment of the science curriculum, making sure we approach it as progressive improvement, where our students are involved in that conversation to allow them to engage and reflect on their own learning experiences.”