TMA Physicians Award Science Teachers Who Encourage Students To Enter Medicine

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 06 May 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The Texas Medical Association (TMA) has awarded three Texas teachers the 2008 TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching.

Bradley Neu of Lubbock High School in Lubbock, Jill Bailer of Jane Long Middle School in Houston, and Michelle Yates, formerly of Bess Race Elementary School in Crowley, are this year's high school, middle school, and elementary school winners in the competition.

Physician leaders recognized the teachers at TMA's annual conference, TexMed, in San Antonio. TMA awarded each recipient a $5,000 cash prize and a $1,000 school resource grant at an awards ceremony during a meeting of the House of Delegates, TMA's governing body.

The TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching honor teachers who share their energy and enthusiasm for science through creative and innovative methods. TMA created the award 18 years ago to reward excellent science teaching in hopes it would encourage young students to become physicians.

"TMA physicians believe it is so important to cultivate interest in science among our young people that we proudly sponsor this competition," said Laurie Sutor, MD, chair of TMA's Council on Scientific Affairs, the group that oversees the contest.

Meet the winners of the 2008 TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching:

Bradley Neu - High School Winner

Mr. Neu, the high school award winner, is a secondary science teacher at Lubbock High School, where he engages ninth graders in integrated physics and chemistry. He also serves as a coach for robotics and ExploraVision, a program that encourages students to create and explore innovations in future technology by combining their imaginations with the tools of science. Mr. Neu offers after-school activities and tutoring for students and assists other teachers with Science Bowl, the debate team, the regional science fair, and other events. He is working toward a Master Mentor Teacher Certificate from Texas Tech University.

He holds a master of science degree in multidisciplinary science and a master of business administration degree in health organization management, both from Texas Tech.

Jill Bailer - Middle School Winner

Middle school teacher honoree Jill Bailer is a seventh-grade science teacher and is also the school's science department chair. In the classroom, Ms. Bailer focuses on hands-on activities such as using stream tables to teach students about erosion and deposition in rivers, analyzing animal bones, and using models to demonstrate the earth's rotation. She was Southwest District Teacher of the Year in 2002 and a finalist for Teacher of the Year of the Houston Independent School District the same year.

Ms. Bailer has a doctorate of education in curriculum and instruction and a master of education in science education, both from the University of Houston.

Michelle Yates - Elementary School Winner

It was Michelle Yates' work with fifth graders at Bess Race Elementary School that earned her the elementary school teacher award. She seeks to engage students by leading them to discover scientific knowledge, rather than force-feeding information from a textbook. She believes that hands-on science projects help students focus and think critically. She was her school's lead elementary science teacher, assisted the science coordinator in curriculum decisions, mentored other elementary teachers at the school and throughout the district, and ordered equipment and maintained the school's science lab. In 2006 she received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Ms. Yates teaches eighth-grade science at Aledo Middle School this year, but she will teach at Coder Elementary School in Aledo next year. She also is working toward a master of education in science curriculum from Texas Wesleyan University.

The TMA Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching are supported by the TMA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of TMA, thanks to an endowment established by Dr. and Mrs. Ernest C. Butler of Austin. Additional support is provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, the Dr. Bob and Jean Smith Foundation, and gifts from physicians and their families.

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 43,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 120 component county medical societies around the state. Organized in 1853, TMA's key objective is to improve the health of all Texans.

Texas Medical Association