Math teacher gets presidential attention

From: Exeter News Letter, NH - Apr 1, 2003

STRATHAM - Math teacher Joshua Christian Frost loves the feeling of accomplishment he gets from math.

"When you find the answer to a problem, you know that you did the work, and you found the answer," he says.

"You didn't find it in a book, or on the Internet. You found the answer within yourself, by using what you know."

Frost, who coached the New Hampshire Mathcounts champions in 2000-01 and 2001-02, is a seventh-grade teacher at Cooperative Middle School in Stratham.

Frost notes that his third year of teaching was special.

A hearing-impaired student whose speech was difficult to understand taught Frost numeric sign language.

The rest of Frost's class caught on and sign language became the way Frost communicated with his students while they worked on problems on the board.

"This also helped from discouraging students who took a little longer, as they didn't have to watch lots of kids coming up with their answers, and they didn't have to hear kids yelling out the answer before they had a chance to get it on their own."

Frost was one of four New Hampshire teachers chosen as national recipients for the 2002 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

The award recipient for elementary mathematics was Suzy Gagnon of Mast Way School in Durham.

Frost was the recipient for secondary mathematics.

The award presentation took place last week in Washington, D.C.

The events included an award ceremony, a citation by President Bush, meetings with leaders in government and education, sessions to share ideas and teaching experiences, and receptions and banquets to honor the recipients.

Each presidential award recipient will receive a $7,500 award from the National Science Foundation.

The award for elementary science went to Stacy Stapleton of Washington Elementary in Washington.

Kevin Lavigne, of Hanover High School, received the secondary science award.

"The quality of educators in our schools makes an enormous difference in terms of how well and how much students learn. We have good educators in New Hampshire today; however, as we face a growing shortage of educators, it is all the more important that we take time to recognize our very best," said New Hampshire Commissioner of Education Nicholas Donohue.

"The Department of Education not only administers and presents awards to recognize leadership in education - these national and statewide awards build community awareness of our educators while providing positive messages about the teaching profession as a whole."

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Program was established in 1983 by White House officials and is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

The program identifies outstanding mathematics and science teachers - in kindergarten through 12th grade - in each state and the four U.S. jurisdictions.

These teachers will serve as models for their colleagues and will be leaders in the improvement of science and mathematics education.

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