Lower School Teacher Wins National Science Award

Tori Frezza, a Lower School science teacher, has been recognized by the National Science Teachers Association, which awarded her a Maitland P. Simmons Memorial Award for New Teachers.

The award honors those who are both working in grade school and in their first five years of teaching. The prize will enable Ms. Frezza, who teaches 6th-grade science, to attend the 2016 NSTA Annual Conference this month in Nashville.

One theme, or "strand," of this year's conference has caught her eye: Literacy Within Science. As Ms. Frezza put it, "Should we be grading labs for grammar content, as English teachers do, or should we just be doing it for scientific content, rather than grammar?" Her own position is "we should be grading for more than just content for science" as teachers prepare students to become "writers for a lifetime." But it's a subject up for debate, and "I really want to get input on that from other teachers."

She also is interested in hearing about new ways to determine whether students are "truly retaining the knowledge they seem to be getting."

Ms. Frezza joined NCS this school year after three years teaching at the Banner School in Frederick. She holds degrees from Lehigh University and Unity College.

Her application for the Simmons Award earned a hearty recommendation from NCS Science Department Chair Deborah Virtue, who highlighted Ms. Frezza's ability to connect with her students and the "squeals of delights" from the girls as the lessons strike home. "Her enthusiasm for the subject motivates every student," Ms. Virtue wrote, adding, "It is a joy to watch her young students leave the class feeling confident in their scientific understanding and abilities."

Congratulations on your award, Ms. Frezza! We look forward to hearing the insights you bring back from Nashville.