Cleveland High School science teacher, Dr. Jeannie Long, has been awarded The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
This award represents the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government for K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics teaching. This Program authorizes the president to bestow up to 108 awards each year. Awardees are selected from schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Officials said, "Congratulations to our Cleveland High School science teacher, Dr. Jeannie Long, for receiving this prestigious award. Billie “Jeannie” Long has been a science educator
for 21 years and has spent the past 20 years teaching biology, aquatic biology, and AP
environmental science to ninth-12th grade students at Cleveland High School. She also
serves as an adjunct instructor at Cleveland State Community College, teaching dual
enrollment biology and environmental science at Cleveland High.
"Jeannie’s commitment to providing opportunities for students to engage in
extracurricular science activities has resulted in her serving as a Science Olympiad
coach, Environmental Club sponsor, and a science National Honor Society sponsor at
her school.
"Jeannie empowers her students to protect freshwater resources in Tennessee,
while engaging in environmental field research. She developed an ongoing project
focusing on Mouse Creek, a local stream. This project allows students to work with
community leaders and local biologists to monitor and protect this stream ecosystem.
Students in her Aquatic Biology Scientific Research class have designed and conducted
original scientific research and have been invited to present their research at state and
national level junior science symposia.
"Jeannie served on the Tennessee Science Teachers Association Board for seven years
and has presented sessions on engaging students in scientific research at education
conferences. She served on a team that wrote our current Tennessee science standards
and developed training for the biology I course. Jeannie earned a B.A. in psychology, a
B.S. in Secondary Natural Science: Biology, and a M.S. in Environmental Science, all
from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She earned a Ph.D. in science
education with the Theory and Practice in Teacher Education Department at the
University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Jeannie is National Board Certified in Adolescence
and Young Adulthood Science: Biology."
Each awardee receives a certificate signed by President Trump and a $10,000 award
from the National Science Foundation. Awardees will also travel to Washington, D.C.,
for an awards ceremony at a future date.