Beloved Teacher Returns After Yearlong Fellowship
Physics teacher Michelle Steever is welcomed back from her advisory position in Washington D.C.
By Darius Parakh
Physics teacher Michelle Steever is welcomed back from her advisory position in Washington D.C.
By Darius Parakh
When physics teacher Michelle Steever was informed that she needed to travel over 3,000 miles to be a national member of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program in 2018, it came as a bit of a shock. Even after months of interviews and nail-biting moments leading up to her acceptance, the prospect of spending a year in Washington D.C. seemed entirely foreign. After teaching for 25 years in California, moving away was unthinkable.
Even in the face of this massive change, the allure of advising the nation on educational policies was too much to pass over. Assembled of 15 teachers from around the United States, the Einstein fellowship aims to better inform the legislature on the impact of implementing changes to the education system. For Steever, this was a chance to make history.
“Having the weight of Congress behind you was immense. If you ever wanted information on a topic, you could call up a specific research service and a giant room full of Ph.Ds would research it for you,” said Steever. “Since my bill was focused on Career Technical Education, I was able to use the service to help write up my legislation.”
The skills that she acquired while in Washington D.C. have already bled back into the school itself. Indeed, to the assistant principal of instruction, Brendan Simon, having a staff member with a strong understanding of policy is incredibly valuable.
“She’s a wealth of knowledge,” said Simon. “We’ll be sitting in professional development before school starts, and she’ll say, ‘oh, I helped create that!’ It’s definitely great to have a veteran back on the staff.”
For the science department itself, Steever’s return ushers in a relief to all of the physics teachers.
In order to support her year-long sabbatical, the department was forced to rearrange the schedule of two classes of incoming freshmen by placing them in biology classes, rather than taking the normal route of physics first. To the head of the science department, Steven Boyd, this proved to be the most important part of her homecoming.
“We had to have freshmen take biology, which I think is not actually the right way to do it with our current pathway. With her return, we now have enough physics teachers for all of the freshman classes,” said Boyd. “I’m glad she’s back. She has more than 30 years of experience. She is a phenomenal teacher and a valuable asset to our department.”
Even in the face of this massive change, the allure of advising the nation on educational policies was too much to pass over. Assembled of 15 teachers from around the United States, the Einstein fellowship aims to better inform the legislature on the impact of implementing changes to the education system. For Steever, this was a chance to make history.
“Having the weight of Congress behind you was immense. If you ever wanted information on a topic, you could call up a specific research service and a giant room full of Ph.Ds would research it for you,” said Steever. “Since my bill was focused on Career Technical Education, I was able to use the service to help write up my legislation.”
The skills that she acquired while in Washington D.C. have already bled back into the school itself. Indeed, to the assistant principal of instruction, Brendan Simon, having a staff member with a strong understanding of policy is incredibly valuable.
“She’s a wealth of knowledge,” said Simon. “We’ll be sitting in professional development before school starts, and she’ll say, ‘oh, I helped create that!’ It’s definitely great to have a veteran back on the staff.”
For the science department itself, Steever’s return ushers in a relief to all of the physics teachers.
In order to support her year-long sabbatical, the department was forced to rearrange the schedule of two classes of incoming freshmen by placing them in biology classes, rather than taking the normal route of physics first. To the head of the science department, Steven Boyd, this proved to be the most important part of her homecoming.
“We had to have freshmen take biology, which I think is not actually the right way to do it with our current pathway. With her return, we now have enough physics teachers for all of the freshman classes,” said Boyd. “I’m glad she’s back. She has more than 30 years of experience. She is a phenomenal teacher and a valuable asset to our department.”