Four educators from Howard, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties were among the most recent recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the nation’s highest award for teaching in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The science teaching honorees are:

• Modupe Olafunmiloye, Prince George’s County Public Schools, a Kenmoor Middle School science teacher, has also taught science and special education to students with cognitive disabilities at Buck Lodge Middle School for five years.
• Krishni Patrick, Montgomery County Public Schools, has taught at Piney Branch Elementary School since 2007. A fifth-grade teacher, she has also taught third grade and STEM. She began her career as a DC Teaching Fellow at Truesdell Elementary School, Leckie Elementary School, and Thomson Elementary School. She then taught at Centreville Layton School in Delaware.

The mathematics teaching honorees are:

• Joan Shane, Montgomery County Public Schools, serves currently as the Mathematics Content Specialist (CS) at Sligo Middle School where she has taught mathematics for the past 12 years. She spent the previous 11 years teaching fifth grade at Oakland Terrace Elementary School with a focus on mathematics.
• Kate Sandoval, Howard County Public School System, currently serves as an elementary mathematics specialist at Bollman Bridge Elementary School, where she previously taught fourth grade. Sandoval has worked in the Howard County Public School System for nine years, teaching at the elementary level.

For more details on the award and recipients, see the full press release.