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BACK TO SCHOOL 2014 | WEAnews 12 Great Things Happen Everyday WEA Members Honored As STEM Educators of the Year The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) hosted the first "Roadmap to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math" (STEM) Conference in Laramie, Wyoming, in August 2014. Two of the three Wyoming educators honored as the first-ever STEM Educators of the Year are WEA members. The WDE accepted nominations for STEM Educators of the Year in three categories. This year's winners and WEA members are: Gary Duquette for Secondary, and Dr. Allan Childs for Post- secondary. Duquette teaches both math and Project Lead the Way engineering courses at Jackson Hole High School (JHHS). In his Engineering Design and Development course, students are using the design process to take a problem they see in the real world around them, design a solution, and hopefully patent their solution. "In that class, my students design experiments for NASA," Duquette said. "JHHS has signed a space act agreement with NASA, and the students are sub-contractors working to help astronauts and NASA with the challenges of microgravity. The students work with mentors and engineers at NASA, build the experiment, take it to NASA, and fly it on the Zero-G plane." Duquette also coaches and mentors FIRST robotics teams. FIRST robotics is a world-wide robotics competition started 20 years ago. Childs teaches general chemistry, organic chemistry, and developmental math classes at Northwest College in Powell. In addition to teaching, he is greatly involved on campus. He serves as the chemistry safety officer, is the budget coordinator and member of the Northwest College Environmental Education Committee, and works with the Criminal Justice program and Cody Labs to develop curriculum. In addition to serving as an academic advisor for students, Childs also guides and assists students with independent research projects. Many of those students have participated in the University of Wyoming Undergraduate Research Day. He is also the director of the Northwest College Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program. The WDE was proud to honor these educators at the first STEM Gala on the evening of August 6, the first day of the STEM conference. The conference included keynote speeches from NASA Engineer Kobie Boykins, author Hans Meeder, and Engineering Education Service Center Director Celeste Bain. Other conference events included tours of numerous STEM facilities in and around Laramie and the University of Wyoming campus, hands-on breakout sessions, workshops, and more. The Wyoming Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contacted the WEA to help alert our members to information regarding free trainings created in collaboration with several state agencies. The DHS is currently working with WEA and PTSB to register trainings and classes for PTSB credit. As part of the School Safety and Security Initiative created in the 2014 legislative session, the Wyoming Department of Education, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Office WEA partners with state agencies on School Safety of Homeland Security were mandated to assist school districts, local law enforcement, and health and safety agencies in developing and refining local crisis management plans, including emergency communications. They are also required to provide crisis management training opportunities to employees of school districts, local law enforcement agencies, and other local agencies. The WEA supports safe environments for our students and education employees. "We applaud any Wyoming agency that is proactive in planning and preparing any of our education employees to create a safer environment," said WEA President Kathy Vetter. Bill Morse, Emergency Preparedness Planner for the DHS, is the lead on this project. He has almost 25 years in law enforcement training around Wyoming as a trooper, lieutenant, and captain in the Wyoming Highway Patrol. He is also a graduate of the STEM winner Gary Duquette