Newsroom
Temecula teacher is finalist for Presidential Award in Mathematics and Science
 Ziba Mayar, Riverside County’s 2011 Science Teacher of the Year, is a California finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
Mayar, who teaches biology at Temecula Valley High School, is one of just three California science teachers nominated for the award. She was named as a nominee in June by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, himself a former high school science teacher.
The president may bestow the award on up to 108 math and science teachers each year. All nominations will be reviewed by the National Science Foundation and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Winners are to be announced next year.
A video of Mayar’s work in the classroom was submitted in support of her nomination. It features a lesson on the genetic processes of transcription and translation.
“It’s an honor to have been chosen,” said Mayar. “My collaborative team and I believe that the success we have with our students is contingent on our ability to recognize their learning needs and then provide appropriate instruction that meets those needs.”
Mayar is also being recognized for her role in the development, over time, of a rigorous teaching protocol which demands of her students full focus, attention to detail, and sustained concentration. In the process, students acquire a hands-on understanding of the scientific method, and study habits and tools which help them in all their classes. Meticulous notebooking and careful use of time are two key features of the process.
In part, Mayar credits the evolution of the teaching model to years of collegial discussions with three other science educators while they were a daily carpool quartet. The others are Mayar’s sister, Sara Wardak, also a teacher at Temecula Valley High; Henry Shimojyo, who teaches at Lakeside High in Lake Elsinore; and Yamileth Shimojyo, Henry’s wife, who is now the science coordinator with the Riverside County Office of Education.
Though the four work at different sites now, Mayar said, they remain friends and continue to collaborate, now with a focus on professional development for educators.
For information contact:
Tom Willman, Public Information Officer
Telephone: (951) 826-6180
Fax: (951) 826-6199
twillman@rcoe.us
|
