Fourth grade teacher, Jen Wilkie, begins the English portion of her class. Wilkie was the recipient of the Lohr Award for Innovation in Teaching Science for her work of bringing the community to the classroom.
Erin Dunphy and Lauren Mateer
The Ithaca Public Education Initiative awarded the 2012 Raymond C. Loehr Award for Excellence in Science Teaching last week to teacher Jennifer Wilkie. Wilkie received the award at the Ithaca City School District’s convocation event September 4 for her work teaching fourth grade at South Hill Elementary School.
One of the main science projects Wilkie does with her classes is “Trout in the Classroom,” a collaboration with the Floating Classroom. Students raise trout from eggs and care for the fish to learn about their life cycles and environments before the trout are released in the spring at Lower Buttermilk Falls.
Wilkie said one of the best things about the project is teaching students the connection between the human lifestyle and the trout’s. She said she works to bring a sustainable message to her science classes.
“My hope is that these kids see how their lives are intimately connected to these trouts’ lives,” Wilkie said. “Their successes are also our successes, and their troubles are indicators of our troubles.”
IPEI Development Committee Chair Mary Grainger said that the award is given on behalf of the Lohr family to a teacher in the community who helps students foster interest in science. It is also to gain publicity for the importance of science education.
“We just want to make sure we make some noise in the community,” Grainger said.
Wilkie said she was honored to be included among the educators who have been recognized for the award in the past.
“I’ve sat in that audience for years and watched colleagues who I’ve seen do amazing work in their science classrooms, so that’s the vision I had of this award” Wilkie said.
Wilkie said she is grateful for the opportunities the IPEI provides for science teachers to reach out to community partners in order to further their education methods. The IPEI helps to fund the trout project at South Hill along with other projects.
According to Grainger, the Award for Excellence in Science Teaching is also a way for the Loehr family to give back to their community. The award was created in honor of Raymond C. Loehr’s 70th birthday.
“They felt it was a nice way to honor their father’s legacy in the district where they were raised and most of their children go to school,” Grainger said of Loehr’s children, who endowed the award.
Wilkie said that the award is appreciated not only by educators but also by students.
“Gratitude is my big thing,” Wilkie said. “The kids are grateful for these experiences, the families are, and it really does come right back into this community. Honestly, there are some kids who haven’t had an opportunity to go down to Lower Buttermilk, for example, and so they get the chance to do that.”
Wilkie said in the current school year she hopes to expand the way she connects her science classes to other subjects, including a project involving the trout, art and poetry, with help from the IPEI and the community.
Erin Elizabeth 