Jacqueline Bath, a geosciences teacher at ThunderRidge High School in Littleton, Colo., has been named the 2015 American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Foundation’s Teacher of the Year.
Bath, who has taught high school geosciences for more than 18 years, was hailed by peers as “an amazing instructor who reaches out to students and makes them think out of the box about science and learning the components of science … She pushes them to find a passion in science that energizes their love for learning and makes it relevant to their everyday lives.”
The Teacher of the Year award, funded and presented annually by the AAPG Foundation, is intended to honor and encourage excellence in geoscience education. It includes a $6,000 prize that will be split into two parts – half will be designated for Bath’s personal use, and half goes to ThunderRidge High School for education use under Bath’s supervision. Bath also will receive an all-expense paid trip to the AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in Denver, set for May 31-June 3, where she will be presented with her award at the All-Convention Luncheon.
The other semi-finalists each receive honorable mentions and $500 awards from the AAPG Foundation. They are Susan Boucher, Enfield High School, Suffield, Conn. (Eastern Section); Jennifer Reyes, New Caney Middle School, Houston (Gulf Coast Section); Katherine Hoover, Wylie High School, Wylie, Texas (Southwest Section); Shannon Chatwin, Owasso High School, Owasso, Okla. (Mid-Continent Section); and Stephan Kiouses, Ridgeview High School, Bakersfield, Calif. (Pacific Section).
The AAPG Foundation was established in 1967 with the primary goal of providing a source of funding for educational, charitable and scientific objectives, which directly and indirectly benefit the geologic profession and the general public. The Teacher of the Year award honors that intention by giving this accolade to the heart of geoscience educational initiatives – grades K-12. The Teacher of the Year Award began in 1996 and has since honored 17 outstanding earth science teachers across the country.