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Kristin Weakly (MIT '15) will join a select group of the nation's most promising young teachers in the 2015 cohort of the 's fellows program.

Weakly, who will begin her first year of teaching this fall after graduating from the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ, joins a group of 34 high school mathematics and science teachers beginning their careers as KSTF Teaching Fellows.

"l have always been fascinated by science as a way of knowing the world, and have a passion and a penchant for working with young people," said Weakly, who will teach earth science and biology at Abraham Lincoln High School in Denver Public Schools. "I believe that all students deserve to understand the world around them."

Before enrolling in , Weakly spent a year in Ecuador teaching math, reading, writing and adult education classes to workers who had missed years of schooling and later worked as a research technician at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Those experiences led her to a career in secondary education.

"A teacher's role is to create a safe and challenging environment, where students learn to question the world around them, and are supported in developing into the people they want to be," Weakly said.

KSTF seeks to improve STEM education by building a stable, sustainable cadre of networked leading teachers, who are trained and supported as leaders from the beginning of their careers. The KSTF Teaching Fellows Program — the Foundation’s signature program — offers stipends, funds for professional development, grants for teaching materials, and opportunities for leadership development and mentoring for early­career STEM teachers through a comprehensive five­year fellowship. With an emphasis on inquiry and collaboration, the Teaching Fellows Program empowers participants to advance their teaching practice and student learning, while leading from the classroom.

This is the second consecutive year a graduate of the UW ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ has been named a KSTF Teaching Fellow. (M.Ed. U-ACT '13) was selected as a member of the 2014 cohort.

about Weakly on her KSTF Teaching Fellow profile page.

Contact

Dustin Wunderlich, Director for Marketing and Communications

206-543-1035, dwunder@uw.edu