Kenan Fellow Justin Osterstrom has received the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Osterstrom’s 2011 Kenan fellowship was sponsored by GSK. He is the third Kenan Fellow to have received this honor.
Osterstrom, who teaches sixth-grade science at Martin Gifted and Talented Magnet Middle School in the Wake County Public School System, serves on the Kenan Fellows Program Professional Development Steering Committee, which helps guide the content of the professional development provided to the latest cohort of Kenan Fellows. The all-volunteer committee is made up of a cross-section of educators from the Kenan Fellows Alumni Network.
Osterstrom is one of 213 recipients of the 2016 Presidential Award which include educators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity schools. According to a White House press release, the winners are selected by a panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians, and educators following an initial selection process at the state level.
The winners of the Presidential Award receive $10,000 from the National Science Foundation, and will be honored at an awards ceremony in Washington, DC on Sept. 8.