By Mubarrat Choudhury
Maneuvering the huge $1,000 check through the door, the STARS Teacher Recognition Award Committee surprised AP Chemistry teacher Amy Hammer when they walked into her classroom. Hammer and Law Magnet teacher Alexis Stern were both recognized as one of ten STARS winners across the district.
“I felt shocked that I won,” Stern said. “You just never know if someone won and I did. I was thrilled, but I was so surprised that I was speechless for winning the award, which was weird for me – being speechless.”
To encourage innovation, creativeness and superior results in the classroom, the Excellence in Education Foundation, a non-profit organization, grants monetary awards to teachers who have demonstrated excellence in teaching.
Principal Charles Bruner said that Hammer and Stern won because they engage their students in active discussions and show them how what is taught in class is applied in the real world.
“Both of these ladies are outstanding at what they do, and I am a very proud principal of an outstanding school that houses an outstanding staff and model students,” Principal Charles Bruner said. “Ms. Alexis Stern engages her law and government classes in discussions and debate. Ms. Amy Hammer has been a leader in the science and chemistry department at RHS. She engages her students with hands-on experiments, and the committee loved it.”
The foundation chooses the semi-finalists from written nominations that parents and former students submit. A committee is compromised of a previous award winner, one district administrator, one Board of Trustees member, one RISD Excellence in Education Board member and four PTA members. After an interview, the finalists are selected and evaluated in their own classrooms at three random times, then awarded for their teaching.
“The process was really long, starting with a ten-page application, and getting good recommendations from different people, enduring the interview, and getting past the random classroom evaluation, which was the worst,” Hammer said. “I had to make sure I was prepared for a full class period every day, and I also had to make sure I dressed nice every day.”
The committee first chooses one recipient from each of the four attendance zones, then awards six teachers selected randomly from the district. Richardson was the only school with two recipients.
“I was surprised that I got nominated,” Hammer said. “I was surprised that I got to the interview phase, I was surprised I got past the interview phase, and I was really surprised that I won. There were so many really good teachers in RISD, and it was really an honor.”