Washington State University alumna Lisa Cartwright, a fourth-grade teacher at Pullman’s Franklin Elementary School, received a 2004 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the nation’s highest honor for teaching in these fields.
Cartwright received the award at an April 15 ceremony in Washington, D.C. With the award she receives a $10,000 gift from the National Science Foundation, the independent federal agency that administers the awards program, and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for a week-long series of celebratory events and professional development activities. More information about the Presidential Award program is available online at www.paemst.org.
Cartwright graduated from the WSU College of Education with a bachelor’s degree in 1989 and a master’s degree in 1993. She is the only winner from Washington and one of 95 elementary and middle school teachers nationwide to receive the award.
Established by Congress in 1983, the annual presidential awards program identifies outstanding mathematics and science teachers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Territories and the U.S. Department of Defense Schools. This year’s recipients—chosen by a panel of leading mathematicians, scientists and educators in conjunction with the White House—are K-6 teachers.
Later this year, the awardees will participate in the Disney Youth Education Series programs at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, where the teachers will go behind the scenes of the theme parks to examine and explore science, leadership, history and art.
