2061 Connections
An electronic newsletter for the science education community

November/December 2007

New AAAS Prize Honors Science Teacher

Him Gallagher, CCMS co-principal investigator, presenting during the opening plenary session

Chris Kennedy

Through its awards program, AAAS has long recognized scientists, journalists, and public servants for significant contributions to science and to the public's understanding of science. Now, thanks to a generous donation from a AAAS member, AAAS administers an annual prize specifically dedicated to honoring a science teacher. The AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize for High School Teachers recognizes a high school teacher who has developed an innovative and effective classroom strategy, activity, or program that contributes to the AAAS goal of advancing science education.

Chris Kennedy, a veteran chemistry teacher at Hiram High School in Hiram, GA, is the first winner of the $1,000 prize. Kennedy's award-winning activity was a lab on electron configurations in the periodic table that he revised to meet new state standards for high school science, which are based in part on AAAS Project 2061's Benchmarks for Science Literacy. Kennedy's unique lab and his efforts to share his innovative labs and lessons with other chemistry teachers in his district helped him win the prize.

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For more information about Chris Kennedy and his winning lab, read the AAAS news coverage.

For details about the prize, including how to nominate a teacher for 2008, visit AAAS Prizes.

For more information, please contact:

Project 2061 Communications Director: Mary Koppal, (202) 326-6643


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