The Rio Mirada

PHOTO BY DEREK POPPLE

I suppose I'm showing my age and campus longevity when I refer to our school's newspaper as The Rio Mirada. It seems the name changed to The Mirada somewhere in the years between my service as advisor (1987-1990) and today.

In any case, the students wrote a nice article for the school newspaper published last week.

Dean Baird Recognized by White House, National Science Foundation

APPLAUSE from The Sacramento Bee

My phone blinker was blinking today. Our classroom phones are corded throwbacks to the 1970s, but we do have phones in our classrooms. Each is equipped with a single blinker that indicates when we have one or more voice mail messages.

The blinker is rarely a harbinger of glad tidings. But in this case, it was! There was a message from a 1968 graduate of Rio Americano High School. She offered generous kudos, including a recollection that her high school physics experience was not her most delightful. Her message was the most delightful one ever to grace my voice mail box.

She'd been inspired to phone because of a note of congratulations printed in today's Sacramento Bee:

APPLAUSE for September 17, 2012

Kudos to: Dean Baird, Rio Americano High School physics teacher

Received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
Baird traveled to the White House in June to receive his certificate and to meet fellow winners and Vice President Joe Biden. "The students that I get in physics are not scientists, they're not engineers, they're not mathematicians," Baird told a San Juan Unified School District online publication. "They're just kids that are ready to go to college. I want to give them a broad appreciation for physics and the role that it plays in their life."

Funny, the ripples that radiate from even a paragraph of a major regional newspaper.

Valley Community Newspapers

Valcomnews appears to be a local news aggregator. They picked up Rebecca Leroux's SJUSD article on my selection as a PAEMST finalist.

Rio Americano Teacher Dean Baird awarded Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching

San Juan Unified School District News

When I learned of my selection as a PAEMST national finalist on June 11, I notified my principal with all the details and recommended that he alert the school district's public relations office. He did.

But a Presidential Award is an odd bird. When you mention it to people—even to teachers, administrators, or district personnel—they don't know what it is. They simply haven't heard of it.

They've heard of Teacher of the Year, which is really a constellation of awards given annually at the district, county, state, and national level. PAEMST is not that. They've heard of News10's Teacher of the Month. PAEMST is not that.

They haven't heard of PAEMST because it is so rare. Only math and science teachers are eligible to apply, so that cuts out the wide majority of school teachers. And it alternates between K-6 (in even years) and 7-12 (in odd years).

I am only the 25th high school science teacher in California to have been named a PAEMST awardee since the program's inception in 1983. I teach more students than that in my 1st period AP Physics class.

Most teachers, administrators, and school personnel will complete their careers never knowing (or knowing of) a PAEMST honoree. So news of a PAEMST winner comes into newsrooms unexpected. Is it a big deal? A small deal? What is it? Is it really news?

The California Department of Education issued a press release congratulating Kentaro Iwasaki and me on our selection as PAEMST national finalists on Monday, June 25. While I was flying to Washington, DC on June 26, I received a message from my district's Community Relations office. They hoped to do an interview and to get some pictures. I contacted them upon my return from Washington, but they had closed down for the summer.

As the new school year got into full swing, my principal sent a gentle inquiry to the district regarding the addition of this news to the San Juan Scene/website news stream. SJUSD's Rebecca Leroux came out on August 23 for an interview, classroom observation, and in-class photo-shoot. She was nothing but professional and rolled with the flow of the day's classroom activity while doing her work.

Here's the story she wrote:

Rio teacher honored by President

University of Michigan Physics

I shared my PAEMST news with a pair of Michigan physics professors who were favorites of mine during my years at Michigan. Both Jean Krisch and David Gidley offered kind congratulations. Dr. Krisch taught me Advanced Mechanics in a manner superior to my capacity to learn it. She rehearsed her lessons in advance to make sure the timing and pacing worked out. Dr. Gidley tolerated my creativity, antics, and wisecracks in the Advanced Optics lab course. The news made it to the department's news page.

Physics Alumnus Dean Baird Honored with Presidential Mathematics and Science Teaching Award

I did not set the river on fire at Michigan. But even when I struggled with the physics, I always thought it profoundly groovy and worthy of the effort.

I felt more of a connection to the Physics Department than to the School of Education, even though my degree (Bachelor of Science in Education with a Physics Major and a Mathematics Minor) was issued by the School of Ed.

When I moved to Sacramento, I lost my university connections across the miles. I'm delighted that Jean Krisch and David Gidley are still at Michigan so they could see that a struggling student from the mid-'80s turned out OK.

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.

The Evaluation of My PAEMST Application: My Grades

I received an email note from the good people at the PAEMST program alerting me to the availability of the "grades" earned by my 2011 PAEMST application.

At this point, the pressure is off: I already achieved recognition as a national finalist; I am a PAEMST Awardee! But, of course, there is the curiosity. How are you not going to look at the assessment given by the evaluators?

Each section ("dimension") of the application was given a mark from a four-point scale. 

Excellent (4) - The applicant demonstrated outstanding knowledge, skills or performance with no errors or limitations.
Very Good (3) - The applicant demonstrated strong knowledge, skills or performance with no significant errors or limitations.
Good (2) - The applicant demonstrated limited knowledge, skills or performance with some errors or limitations.
Fair (1) - The applicant demonstrated limited knowledge, skills or performance with significant errors or limitations.

Three evaluators reviewed the application. The evaluators were part of the National Selection Committee (NSC) convened by the National Science Foundation. After each NSC evaluator gives his or her review, they meet to compare notes and develop a final, panel score.

My numerical scores:

Dimension 1: Mastery of their content appropriate for the grade level taught
Panel: Excellent (4) - NSC #1: Very Good (3) - NSC #2: Excellent (4) - NSC #3: Very Good (3)

Dimension 2: Use of instructional methods and strategies that are appropriate for the students in the class and that support student learning
Panel: Very Good (3) - NSC #1: Very Good (3) - NSC #2: Very Good (3) - NSC #3: Very Good (3)

Dimension 3: Effective use of student assessments to evaluate, monitor, and improve student learning
Panel: Very Good (3) - NSC #1: Very Good (3) - NSC #2: Excellent (4) - NSC #3: Very Good (3)

Dimension 4: Reflective practice and life-long learning to improve teaching and student learning
Panel: Excellent (4) - NSC #1: Very Good (3) - NSC #2: Excellent (4) - NSC #3: Very Good (3)

Dimension 5: Leadership in education outside the classroom
Panel: Excellent (4) - NSC #1: Excellent (4) - NSC #2: Excellent (4) - NSC #3: Excellent (4)

These scores must have 

1. qualified me as a PAEMST-worthy national finalist, and

2. distinguished me from my fellow California science candidates.

Outscoring one's fellow state candidates is not enough to be named as an awardee. Some states went without awardees in mathematics or in science. One state had no PAEMST awardees in 2011.

The complete report—with comments—is available as a PDF here:

Introduction to the PAEMST Evaluation document

Dean Baird's PAEMST Application Evaluation

For reference, my original application materials are here:
Dean Baird's Videotaped Lesson: "Why the Sky is Blue"

Dean Baird's Dimensions of Outstanding Teaching (with Supplements)

Dean Baird's PAEMST Résumé

Dean Baird's Letters of Recommendation

President Obama Announces Plans for a New, National Corps to Recognize and Reward Leading Educators in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

Administration will also immediately dedicate $100 million to supporting STEM teachers

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, the Obama Administration will announce the President’s plan for the creation of a new, national Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Master Teacher Corps comprised of some of the nation’s finest educators in STEM subjects. The STEM Master Teacher Corps will begin with 50 exceptional STEM teachers established in 50 sites and will be expanded over 4 years to reach 10,000 Master Teachers. These selected teachers will make a multi-year commitment to the Corps and, in exchange for their expertise, leadership and service, will receive an annual stipend of up to $20,000 on top of their base salary. The Administration will launch this Teacher Corps with the $1 billion from the President’s 2013 budget request currently before Congress.

President Obama said, “If America is going to compete for the jobs and industries of tomorrow, we need to make sure our children are getting the best education possible.  Teachers matter, and great teachers deserve our support.”

Today, the Administration also announced that the President will immediately dedicate approximately $100 million of the existing Teacher Incentive Fund toward helping school districts implement high-quality plans to establish career ladders that identify, develop, and leverage highly effective STEM teachers. With an application deadline of July 27th, over 30 school districts across America have already signaled their interest in competing for funding to identify and compensate highly effective teachers who can model and mentor STEM instruction for their teaching peers, providing those teachers with additional compensation, recognition, and responsibilities in their schools.

These Administration plans build on a key recommendation of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), calling for a national STEM Master Teacher Corps to recognize and help retain America’s most talented STEM teachers, build a community of practice among them, raise the profile of the STEM teaching profession, and leverage excellent teachers to collaborate with their peers to strengthen STEM education in America’s public schools.

As part of the announcement, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, White House Domestic Policy Council Director Cecilia Muñoz, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Dr. John Holdren, and PCAST Co-Chair Dr. Eric Lander will meet on Wednesday at the White House with outstanding math and science teachers to discuss efforts to strengthen teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and build up the STEM education profession.

More details in the full White House press release.

NSF PAEMST Press Release Upgraded

The National Science Foundation's press release concerning the Presidential Awards for Mathematics and Science Teaching has been newly fortified with interviews with some of the awardees.

Check the first paragraph under the article's dateline.

Outstanding Science and Mathematics Teachers Recieve Presidential Awards

UPDATE: You can see the videos right here! (I'm so good at the Internets!) I reversed the order relative to the NSF's post, just to be sporting.

Robert Samuel Ettinger: Washington Science


Matthew Owens: South Carolina Math


Judith Martinez: Puerto Rico Science


Angela Miller: Kansas Math

The PAEMST Eagle Flew Today

In addition to last week's recognition events in Washington, DC, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching includes a $10,000 deposit into each awardee's personal bank account.

That deposit was made to my account today.

One of the PAEMST meet-and-greet small group discussion prompts last week Wednesday was "What are your plans for the prize money?" By that point in the activity, we were very comfortable with each other—impressed and delighted with the dynamism and affability of the assembly. So that particular prompt quickly disintegrated into joke-making. I recall asking my group if they thought "Candy and magazines" would be an inappropriate response. I don't recall serious feedback being offered!

The monetary prize is a wonderful benefit of being selected as an awardee. Who among us couldn't find a use for $10,000? I do not know the exact reason that it's part of the award, but it is likely an acknowledgement that teachers spend a non-trivial amount of their own money on classroom materials. With 97 awardees, there are probably 97 different ways the money will be handled.

In any case, I'm off to the store to get my candy and magazines!

Post-PAEMST Wednesday: Air & Space and Fireworks

Jean was stay close to the Beacon and visit the National Geographic Museum and give her legs a rest this day. So I headed out alone. The streets up at Dupont Circle were dead on this holiday morning.

Our little sidewalk cafe was open, so I had a bite of breakfast before heading to the Metro and on to the Smithsonian stop. I headed directly to the Air & Space Museum, so I could be there when it opened.

The marching bands were readying for the parade. They were decked out in thick felt and heavy boots. And decorative hats. They were dressed for winter, but it was heading toward 90+° F. And the humidity! I hope they managed to keep hydrated and were prepared to burn those unis.

I got into the museum with a sizable crowd. I knew it would only get more crowded as the holiday went on. I meandered and photographed as best I could.

When lunch rolled around, I asked a docent for a tip. He recommended the food court next door, the one at The Museum of the American Indian. Good call! It wasn't cheap, but no museum food court food is. But it was arranged by various Native American regions. The variety was excellent, and the fare was yum! It's called Mitsitam. I wandered through the expansive gift shop and found a few T-shirts. There were other alluring treasures, but the new camera (and lenses) set me back a bit.

I returned to Air & Space for more meandering and photography. So much aerospace goodness in that place! I was happy to see some recognition of the Ranger and Surveyor missions to the Moon: the unmanned probes we sent in the run up to Apollo. Of course I spent time in the Wright Flyer gallery, enjoyed a show at the planetarium, touched the Moon Rock, and wandered through several other robust displays.

I found an appealing T in the basement of the museum store, where there was also a giant model of NCC-1701.

I returned to the Beacon to strategize and gear up for the evening's fireworks display. I surmized the rockets were to be launched somewhere over The National Mall. I had been told that that place tended to be extremely crowded during the show. No interest at all. It looked like I'd have a good shot if I crossed the Potomac and shot from the Mount Vernon Trail near the Arlington Metro stop.

When I arrived (hours before sundown), the west bank of the Potomac was tripod-to-tripod thick with photogs already in place. I found a breach and plugged my Gitzo in. The view included the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, with the boat-laden Potomac in the foreground. All that was left was waiting for dark.

The show started around 9:15pm, I think. Once it began, there were "bombs bursting in air" non-stop for about 20 minutes. My rig was the Nikon D800E + Nikkor AFS 24-70mm. I set it fairly wide (I didn't have a sense of how high the bursts would go), knowing that with 36 MP, I could crop as needed. I'd read somewhere that f/11 and ISO200 were good settings for fireworks, so I went with that. The shutter was in bulb mode, and I had a cable release.

I've never really shot fireworks, so the proper technique is not intuitive to me. You want to be able to expose for several seconds while not losing color saturation. I was also in Live View, which was probably a mistake. I kept the camera/lens an autofocus; most shots were spot on, others were a touch soft. With more confidence and better technique, I would have set the focus to the one that works and locked it in. But when the show is on, it's a race to gather as many images as you can. All I wanted to think about was when to open and close the shutter.

When it was over, it was back to the Metro. But the crowds that had taken hours to assemble were now in a hurry to depart at the same time. And there was a failure somewhere near Arlington. So the steaming masses were forced to wait. As 11pm approached, it was still hot and very humid.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well most of the fireworks shots turned out. I was shooting something I don't shoot on a camera that was unfamiliar to me.

So closed the last full day in The District.

Developing(!): My DC Photo Albums

These are very much in the preview stage, and will eventually be better organized. But for now:

PAEMST-related
Non-PAEMST-related

DC Fireworks!

Post-PAEMST Tuesday: NPR to Trolley Touring

After a nice breakfast at a Golden Triangle sidewalk café, we traveled to National Public Radio's DC headquarters at 635 Massachusetts Avenue. We were a bit early for the Tuesday public tour. But that gave us time to gather a few photographs.

NPR Weekend Edition Saturday host, Scott Simon, probably thought he was safe from pestering fans when he arrived to his workplace at 10am to conduct an interview for Saturday's broadcast. But as he tried to fly through security, I recognized his voice. His face was turned away from me, and he was wearing sunglasses, but he's a radio host and I do have bionic ears. Knowing what a big fan Jean is, I bellowed out—more as a declarative than an interrogative, "Is that Scott Simon?"

Jean leapt into action, accosting Mr. Simon with praise and appreciations. Since I am such a hep youngster, I snapped a few groupie pics on my iPhone during the assault. In fairness, he was very gracious and slowed down enough ask where we were from and remove his stylish Ray-Bans. I felt bad keeping him from his work, so I didn't try to get a groupie shot, myself. Jean's a much bigger Scott Simon fan, so we got the right pic.

By the time the tour was set to launch, the group was up to about 40. Unwieldy holiday crowd, but our guide made it work. You start at the top floor (6th) via elevator, and work your way down through the triangular building. (Triangular buildings are not so uncommon in DC due to the layout of the streets.)

The group encountered Political Junkie (Talk of the Nation's political trivia wünderkind/ScuttleButton curator), Ken Rudin, Morning Edition (NPR West) Host, Renee Montagne. It's always funny to see the people that these very familiar voices come from.

We were allowed to paw through and purchase some of the "employee swag," an opportunity likely prompted by the size of the group and NPR's impending move out of 635 Mass Ave. I bit on a quirky, hand-died orange All Things Considered T.

One of our group was allowed to play the piano under our guide's talk in Studio 4A. She was quite good. It was nice to see NPR's impressive setup and know they're readying for the future.


We navigated our way to a Five Guys Burgers & Fries for lunch. There was no shortage of construction cranes at work in the downtown. We hopped onto a trolley to see some city sights.

We jumped off at Jefferson Memorial. I like its circularity and proximity to the water.

Next we spent some time at the Lincoln Memorial with the rest of humanity. That one looks good day or night.

The it was back on the Metro to Farragut North on the Red Line. We stopped at Nando's Peri Peri (Portuguese bistro) for dinner before heading back to The Beacon.

Post-PAEMST Monday: A Day at the Zoo

I had the chance to meet up with an actual student from my PAEMST video while in DC. Her family moved from Sacramento to Pennsylvania during the interval between PAEMST 2011 application submission and the award announcement.

Jean and I Metroed a couple of stops up the Red Line to the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo, where we met Rio Phyz alum, Morgan Lambert and her friend Stephanie Portmann. They left early that morning to ride a series of trains from Chambersburg, PA.

We toured the zoo, making it through the bird house, panda exhibit, big cats, orangutans, and elephant space. As was true of all the days I was in DC, it was hot and humid. (Some days, records were set.)

After a few hours at the zoo, Steph and Morgan set out for Georgetown Cupcake before heading back to Chambersburg. They were on a mission.

Jean and I stayed at the zoo and shot as many animals as we could for the rest of the day.

As a photographer, I enjoyed the Invertebrates more than most zoo visitors. Chasing the butterflies in the Pollinarium was great fun.

Among the big cats, the tigers proved elusive. But I did get a couple of nice yawning lioness shots.

The zoo trail ends at Amazonia's watery and tropical exhibit space. Then it was back up the hill and onto the Metro. We dined at the Shake Shack on our way back to The Beacon.

Outstanding Science and Mathematics Teachers Receive Presidential Awards

Awardees meet the Bidens during White House visit

July 2, 2012
Recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) came to Washington, D.C., on June 25 for a week of recognition activities and professional development. Highlighting their trip was a visit to the White House, where they met with Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, a longtime educator. The week's activities also included meetings with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and National Science Foundation (NSF) Deputy Director Cora B. Marrett. (See the White House blog for additional details and photos.)

On June 28th, the awardees received certificates signed by President Obama at a ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

"America's success in the 21st century depends on our ability to educate our children, give our workers the skills they need and embrace technological change," the President said when announcing the awards last month.

"That starts with the men and women in front of our classrooms. These teachers are the best of the best, and they stand as excellent examples of the kind of leadership we need in order to train the next generation of innovators and help this country get ahead."

PAEMST represents the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government specifically for K-12 mathematics and science teaching. Awardees serve as models for their colleagues, inspiration to their communities, and leaders in the improvement of mathematics and science education. In addition to the presidential certificate, awardees received a trip for two to Washington, D.C., and a $10,000 award from NSF.

Of the 97 teachers selected for this year's awards (see list below), there are 51 science teachers and 46 mathematics teachers from across the country, including the four U.S. jurisdictions of Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Department of Defense Education Activity schools and the U.S. territories as a group. U.S. territories include: American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

PAEMST applications are reviewed at the state and national levels by selection committees of outstanding scientists, mathematicians, and educators. Nominees are then sent to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and to the President for final selection. Each year the awards alternate between elementary (kindergarten through sixth grade) and secondary (seventh through 12th grade) teachers.

Since the program's inception in 1983, more than 4,200 teachers have received this honor. NSF administers PAEMST on behalf of OSTP.

Full NSF Press Release

Post-PAEMST Sunday: Constitution to Capitol

After a unexpectedly challenging brunch at the Beacon, Jean and I Metroed to the National Archives to see The Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and The Bill of Rights. Upon approaching the Charters of Freedom Rotunda wherein these documents are displayed, one queues into a group. The group is given a stern talking to by a security guard before being allowed into the Rotunda. You are expected to have your go at the documents within about 10 minutes and move on.

As all visitors observe, the originals are highly faded and difficult to read. I thought it was interesting that there were no photographs or depictions of the Archives' Rotunda that did not show the two guards standing stoically at either end of the Constitution. There were photographs and video showing the Rotunda devoid of visitors. But the guards were always in place.

After the Archives, we wandered through the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden, just across the street. We admired and photographed the amusing variety of true 3-D art as best we could. And met a man who had been "around the world" over a hundred times. Seems he made most of these pseudo-circumnavigations by jogging in circles while near the South Pole, as you do. But he did so with a witness! His name badge indicated he was in town attending a geosciences conference of some sort. And it's not the kind of thing you'd make up.

From there, we strolled past the Air & Space Museum and the Museum of the American Indian. We also passed the National Botanical Gardens en route to wander the grounds of the US Capitol Building. It was Sunday, so things were closed and relatively mellow. But still well-populated with wandering tourists.

A huge temporary bandstand at the edge of the Capitol's reflecting pool prevented any attempts at clever reflection photography, but Independence Day was close at hand, and preparations for the celebration were well under way.

Post-PAEMST Saturday PM: Moving, Pictures

Jean and I Metroed back to The Willard, collected our luggage, and took a taxi up to the Beacon Hotel & Corporate Quarters near Dupont Circle, in the District's northwest quadrant. We were near Embassy Row.

After settling in, we walked over to Julia's Empanadas for some food. It was a hole in the wall, but highly rated. And the empanadas were baked with love. And deliciousness.

With a bit of fuel in me, I ventured into the heat and humidity in search of some photographs. I Metroed down to the National Mall and took some shots at the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. Though it was nearing midnight, neither the heat nor the crowds showed signs of dissipation.

I did my best and made my way back to the Beacon. I was all manner of thirsty and a wee bit hungry, so I was happy to see Julia's was still open after midnight. The street front along Connecticut Ave. that had been quiet hours before was now throbbing with twenty-somethings cruising and clubbing it up. A throng of hipsters flooded the sidewalk, keen to get into the thump-club next to Julia's. Tightly dressed young ladies were stacked several deep buying empanadas to help them pass the time waiting for admission into the club.

Post-PAEMST Saturday AM: Brunch with Jason Kamras

I was delighted to be able to get together with my former student (an AP PhyzMaster, no less), Jason Kamras, while I was in Washington, DC.

Jason grew up in Sacramento, where he attended Rio Americano and excelled in my AP Physics course. His name remains enshrined in Rio's Physics Hall of Fame as a top-scorer in our first-ever  competition in the AAPT's Physics Bowl. Rio's top-scorers bested our region/division that year.

He ended up teaching middle school math at John Philip Sousa Middle School in southeast Washington, DC. It turns out, he excelled at that, too.

So much so that he was named National Teacher of the Year (a program of the Council of Chief State School Officers) in 2005. An honor of that magnitude comes with some burdens; the title-holder spends a year in the media spotlight. No worries—Mr. Kamras handled it all with confidence.

He is now Chief of Human Capital for DC Public Schools, and is a key player in their leadership team. He's plying his skills toward making structural changes in the big picture, and I continue to be nothing but proud of him.

He treated my mom and me to brunch at Créme Cafe, a hip chicken-and-waffles place not far from the campus of Howard University. Delicious! And he gave some prints from his photography portfolio. See Kamras Photography for images. He's got a skilled eye.

I made sure to get a groupie pic before we said our goodbyes.

Photo by Jean Baird

PAEMST Week: Friday—The White House

I was up past my bedtime Thursday night, so Friday morning came early.

The business of the day began with walking from The Willard to The White House. Guests were invited to the public tour of the White House with awardees, to our herd was nearly 200 strong.

Touring The White House usually requires significant advance notice. Your name has to be on a list at the multiple security check points before you're allowed on the grounds. PAEMST awardees and their guests were given a somewhat special pass, but security was still tight.

Since our names were on a list, we had to queue in alphabetical order. Since we had queued the previous day alphabetically by state, my mind wandered to what sequencing options had not yet been leveraged. I joked that next, we would have to order ourselves by height. Note: This was outlandish speculation articulated for humorous value only.

We made it through the rigorous security checks and streamed into The White House. It was a museum-like experience, loaded with artifacts, photographs, portraits, and furnished rooms. I might not have been at my best for absorbing it all. Soon enough, we were out on the North Portico. Guests exited east, awardees gathered to the west to collect badges needed to get into the massive Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB), where the Executive Branch gets its work done.

We gathered in a large conference room for a presentation from celebrated physicist, S. James Gates, Jr.

Next it was off to lunch in the EEOB's newly renovated Indian Treaty Room. The sign above the door read "LIBRARY," and no one knew why it was called the Indian Treaty Room. Before returning to our conference room, we heard from a few more important organizations.

Back in our EEOB conference room, we were invited to dig into the Department of Education's (ED) RESPECT project by some ED policy personnel. RESPECT is an ambitious, visionary plan to improve the state and status of public instruction in the United States. Much to like; little to dislike. When the ED folks asked for feedback, our group was understandably hesitant to volunteer (think of the whirlwind we'd been through over the past few daze days).

I jumped into the silence with an apologetic and tactful expression of doubt that such a plan could be implemented. I knew it wasn't the feedback that was hoped for, but my skepticism was sincere. Fortunately, the ice was broken and others jumped in to defend the plan.

We also got presentations from other important groups.

Next up was our photo-op with Dr. Jill Biden. We were told that Vice President, Joe Biden, would also partake in the photograph. Before we could enter the auditorium where the photo was to be taken, we were told we needed to line up from tallest to shortest. Yes, my morning joke became reality! What are you gonna do? It's part of the PAEMST ride.

We filed into a cozy, modern auditorium and arranged ourselves in tight formation on a set of risers on the stage. Then we waited for our dignitaries. I'm impressed with how well we behaved in tight formation on the risers.

They arrived and we got our photo. We also got encouraging and congratulatory words from fellow educator, Jill Biden. Joe followed with extended comments covering the state of the economy, the importance of STEM education, and his optimism for the future. He graciously stayed to shake hands with all awardees. While we had some level of disappointment from missing our photo-op with the President, it was nice that we got a personal greeting from the Vice President.

Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden Honor Nation's Top Science and Math Teachers

If you look closely, you can see me in the second photo and yes, I'm hayseed enough to point that out. I will post a link to the official photograph once it becomes available.

We walked back to The Willard and reconvened in its ballroom one last time for final words and good-byes. I made certain to get groupie shots with New York physics awardee, Frank Noschese, and California math awardee, Kentaro Iwasaki. (Click to embiggen.)

Some awardees were off directly following the closing session; some stayed one more night. A mighty storm blew through Friday night. It was short but intense—a narrow band of red that blew west to east on the radar map. It knocked out power to many neighborhoods in the DC area, but The Willard weathered the storm without apparent incident.

I hope that Dr. Nafeesa Owens and her team got some well-deserved rest after days of herding us cats. We weren't bad or unruly, but there were just so many of us. And the logistics of pulling all the recognition events off was non-trivial.

PAEMST Week: Thursday—NSF Day

National Science Foundation Day for PAEMST Awardees began with a 6:45am queue in the back lobby of The Willard. We boarded two NSF-bound busses, dividing by early-alpha and late-alpha states. This succeeded in deterring any Alabama vs. Wyoming shenanigans from breaking out.

Upon arrival at NSF's DC HQ, we got a tasty continental breakfast before posing for a group shot in NSF's airy atrium. I'll post the shot when I gain access to it. For now, here's the atrium.

There was a large PAEMST poster on display with this year's winners' faces scattered into a circle around the award logo.

Following remarks from Valentine Kass, Pamela O'Neil, and Cora Marrett, we had a nice talk from Nafeesa Owens, and a pithy preso from Northern California's own Einstein Fellow, Marc "Zeke" Kossover! I snapped this slide from his preso for posterity.

Next we hoofed it over to NSF's annex next door for three rounds of presentations, delivered Japanese-school style: sets of students remain in different classrooms while teachers move room to room.

Einstein Fellows Jean Pennycook and Pamela Truesdell told us about Research Experiences for Teachers. Akiko Elders and Jose Herrera from NSF told us about The Noyce Foundation, and Einstein Fellows Kathryn Culbertson, Camsie McAdams, and Aaron Schuertz told us about the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship.

There was a small level of distraction during these prsentations as this was the day that the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act was delivered. Blocks away from us at the Supreme Court, demonstrators were demonstrating, and every media correspondent with a valid credential was on the scene waiting for the announcement. I know the California awardees were pleased with the ruling, but did not presume to know how Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, et al felt about it.

We had our pick of yummy Cosi box lunches to take with us as we headed into the interspaces of the NSF complex for informal talks with actual NSF scientists and mathematicians. We broke bread in small groups with these professionals, and talked about the challenges of STEM education.

There was then an interval reserved for catching a breath or meeting with elected representatives. I had made no attempt to intrude upon my representative or senators, assuming (rightly or wrongly) that they/their staffs had better things to do. I headed back to The Willard and snapped a few interior/exterior shots.

At 5:30pm the awardees queued for our walk to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, where we were to rehearse our Awards Ceremony before guests were admitted and seated.

My additional guests were my brother, Bryce, and his wife, Mary Butler. They drove 7 hours from Rochester, NY to attend the ceremony! And they drove 7 hours back the next day. I would not have asked that level of commitment from anyone, but I'm delighted they got a chance to take part in the event.

There was pomp and circumstance: bagpipe music played as the honorees entered the auditorium already filled with seated guests who were generous with their applause. If you'd been evading the magnitude of this award until this processional, chances are it caught up with you here. You were in the midst of friends and family, and the Secretary of Education was about to shake your hand while your other hand carried a personalized certificate signed by the President of the United States of America.

The PAEMST Program produced a simple but professional printed program for guests and awardees. There were kind words from NSF's Pamela O'Neil and Cora Marrett before an address from Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.

There is no history unless you record it, and here I am with Education Secretary Arne Duncan and NSF Deputy Director Cora Marrett at the Awards Ceremony.

And here is a close-up of the certificate I'm holding, signed by Barack Obama.

We also received a letter from the President. (As always, click to embiggen.)

The ceremony proceeded with each awardee being recognized and applauded and they crossed the stage, collected their documents, shook the hands of the dignitaries, and posed for their photograph.

A reception in the foyer of the auditorium followed, allowing us to mix, mingle, and bring our guests up to speed with the week's events.

One item to share with the disappointing news that we would not have a photo-op with President Obama the next day as tentatively scheduled. Colorado was on fire, and the President needed to pay a visit. Such are the uncertainties of Official Washington.

Instead we were to have Dr. Jill Biden who continues to teach through here tenure as Second Lady. The Presidential photo-op is never guaranteed, and those of us following the news knew on Wednesday that Mr. Obama was scheduled to visit the firefighting and relief efforts in Colorado on Friday. Nafeesa Owens made the unhappy announcement during our ceremony rehearsal.

There was no wallowing in misery among the awardees. We understood how things worked and there was nothing that could be done to change the reality of the situation. PAEMST recognition events happen at different times each year; there is no day, week, or month that comes with a guarantee the President won't be able to pose with PAEMST awardees. The 2012 PAEMST photo-op is the only one he's missed during his administration to this point.

Jean, Mary, Bryce, and I retired to a late dinner at the Old Ebbitt Grill near The Willard. It seemed like the place to be, even at 10pm on a Thursday night. The food was great and the prices were ridiculously reasonable! No wonder there's always a crowd there.

We had a great dinner and chatted past midnight. I did not get to bed at a reasonable hour.

So endeth Day 2.