教育家奖:贝基·夏皮罗·柯林斯,K-6科学教师和STEM协调员
Although Becky Shapiro didn’t always think she’d be a science teacher, maybe she should have. From an early age, 她带着朋友们在树林里散步, 和女童子军一起露营,带领年轻的童子军, 在夏令营做自然顾问. 她从小就对海洋生物学感兴趣, 这让她在大学期间在加勒比海担任水肺潜水教练. When she drove through the woods for her interview at WDS in 2011 and saw the school’s location on the water, she knew this would be the place for her to teach and incorporate her love for nature and the ocean into her curriculum. On any given day, 你可能会在她的潮间带鱼缸里找到她, 弹着她的四弦琴,唱着关于水循环的歌, or having her sixth graders extrapolate data about invasive crab populations based on crab count surveys on the beach. 作为WDS的第一位指定小学科学老师, 在过去的13年里,她一直在开发和提炼一种膨胀的, standards-based, 面向K-6年级学生的体验式学习课程. 十年前,她在白龙会花园的建设中发挥了重要作用, 在WDS去年与Grow Torah合作之前, 独自管理和协调其使用. 一直想帮助白龙会团队, she has also filled in as the 7th and 8th grade science teacher on four separate occasions.
2014年,WDS获得了一笔赠款,用于开发STEAM课程. Becky spent that summer in various training sessions and returned to build the WDS Maker Space, 配备了3D打印机, a laser cutter, Arduino kits and more. 在过去的八年里, 除了将技术融入科学课程之外, she has helped facilitate engineering electives for grades 6-8 and coordinate with the elementary teachers to incorporate STEAM projects into their classrooms. Under her direction, 从高一到八年级,每个年级都至少参加过一次大型活动, 每年基于项目的STEAM单元. As part of WDS’s partnership with CIJE (the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education), Becky has also received continuous professional development in Science and STEM education, 包括在以色列进行为期一周的培训.
贝基是斯卡斯代尔高中的毕业生, 特拉华大学(文学学士), 曼哈顿维尔学院(MPS). 她目前和她的家人住在佩勒姆:丈夫埃里克·柯林斯, sons Henry (6), Charlie (4), 女儿Maggie(6个月大). Her parents are still in Scarsdale where she grew up and her mother Marcy is her biggest cheerleader as well as critical child care support. Her boys attended Ganon at WDS (Charlie is currently in Ganon Zahav) and it has been a highlight of her career to get to watch them learn and grow in such a warm, welcoming, and beautiful place.