CAPE, JACKSON TEACHERS WIN TOP SICENCE, MATH AWARDS

Two teachers from Cape Girardeau and Jackson public schools are recipients of the nation's highest honors for science and math teachers.

The Cape Girardeau teacher, Franklin Elementary School's Judith Gau, and the Jackson teacher, North Elementary School's Martha Short, are among 200 teachers selected for the 1999 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Recipients are selected by the National Science Foundation on behalf of the White House.

Gau, a 25-year teaching veteran and fourth-grade teacher, received the award for science. She holds memberships in the National Science Teachers Association, National Council of Teachers of Math, Science Teachers of Missouri, Missouri State Teachers Association, Community Teacher Association, and St. Vincent de Paul Church. She has two adult daughters.

Short, a 22-year teaching veteran and fifth-grade teacher, received the award for mathematics. Her memberships include MSTA, CTA, National Council of Teachers of Math, Missouri Council of Teachers of Math, Phi Delta Kappa, and Philanthropic and Education Association for Women. She and her husband, John, have two adult sons.

The awards are given to one elementary and one secondary math teacher and one elementary and one secondary science teacher from each state and from four designated jurisdictions. Gau and Short competed against 628 teachers.

Each winner will receive a $7,500 educational grant to be used at their school, a citation from President Clinton and a trip to Washington, D.C., for an awards ceremony.

Gau said she won on her fourth attempt for the award. "I've always been a finalist, never a finale," she joked. "This time I was the finale, so I'm very pleased."

These aren't the first honors Gau and Short have shared. Both spent the last two years in the Select Teachers As Regional Resources program. The STARR program prepares teachers to teach teachers. Each spring the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education selects 36 master teachers who commit to a yearlong study followed by another year of sharing their expertise with others.

Missouri is divided into nine regions. Three STARR teachers work in each region.

"We've been friends and working together a long time, which makes this even more special," said Short.

As elementary school classroom teachers, both Gau and Short are expected to teach a number of subjects. Both said they use the inquiry approach to learning, which involves using hands-on activities to allow students to discover things on their own.

Short said math always has been her favorite subject to teach. She said she has found ways to incorporate math in nearly every lesson. "If you ask my kids they'll tell you we don't do much that doesn't have some math in it," she said.

Gau said she developed her interest in science after successfully writing a grant with a team of Franklin teachers. Each year she selects one subject to research and develop knowledge in, a practice she said makes her a better teacher.

"We wrote a science grant because that was the thing we knew nothing about," she said. "Because of that we were able to get some additional materials that helped us out, and that's when I learned that everything integrates into science."

Like Short, Gau said she includes science concepts or activities in every subject she teaches. She has developed her desire to improve her skill as a teacher to the point that she now trains other teachers to teach science.

"A lot of people are really hesitant to teach science in the second and third grades, when actually it needs to begin in kindergarten because it is a high interest area that's tested by the state in the third grade," she said. "We're training teachers so they can prepare their students to meet state objectives. The key is integration."