Pssst... The Best Kept Secret in the Neighborhood

There's really no way to post this note without coming across as a self-absorbed narcissist. Then again, I'm blogging the details of my whole PAEMST experience here, so it looks like that ship already sailed.

My selection as a national finalist—a Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching—is not newsworthy here in Northern California.

And that's perfectly OK. Curious and amusing, though.

When the California Department of Education announced my status as one of three state science finalists in June of 2011, that news was carried in The Sacramento Bee and The Carmichael Patch. My own school's student newspaper, The Rio Mirada, ran a story when the school year started, but the news didn't rise to the level of school district website coverage.

This year, there were announcements from The White House, the National Science Foundation, and The California Department of Education: Dean Baird, physics teacher at Rio Americano High School (serving residents of Carmichael) in Sacramento was the national finalist; the solitary science Presidential Awardee from California. Not one of three; one of one! With a dedicated PAEMST Bio page! Headed to an awards ceremony with US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, and a photo-op at the White House! Winner of $10,000!

< crickets >

Nothing in The Sacramento Bee. Nothing in The Carmichael Patch.

When I returned from Washington, I sheepishly attempted to send a tip to The Bee. And I sent an email to The Carmichael Patch. I never heard back from The Bee. The editor of The Carmichael Patch replied, "Congratulations. Do you live or work in Carmichael?" I assured him that I served the residents of Carmichael at Rio Americano. And I sent a link to the article he wrote a year earlier about my selection as a state finalist. But I never heard back from him, either.

A representative from the San Juan School District's Community Relations office called me the day I spent flying to Washington for the three days of recognition events. I was unable to get back to her until I returned from Washington. But the email I sent to her and her assistant went unanswered, apparently they were on summer vacation, too. So nothing—as yet—for the San Juan Scene.

Many—if not all—of my colleagues in the PAEMST Class of 2011 appear to have done much better in terms of media coverage. I do hope the news-unworthiness of the Presidential Award is strictly a local phenomenon.

I'm certainly not keen to bully or nag media outlets into covering something they've decided isn't worth covering. But I do reserve the right to bewildered amusement over the decision that state finalist status merits ink, but national finalist status does not.

OK, so that's that for me bellyaching about things beyond my control. I'll be back in the classroom teaching physics in a matter of days. Just needed to get that off my chest before heading into the new school year.

UPDATE: The San Juan Scene came through: Rio teacher honored by president.