Fairport High School graduate Heather Moore received a teaching fellowship from the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation. She will start as a physics teacher at Clear Springs High School, League City, Texas in the fall. The Fairport-East Rochester Post asked her a few questions about teaching.
How does it feel to receive a teaching fellowship from the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation?
“I’m really excited about it. I’m really honored that they think I’m worthy for it, and I can’t wait to work with everyone.”
What do you get through the fellowship?
“What I’m most excited about is a network of other teachers who are starting out who have the same kind of vision. We’ll be working together the first five years of our teaching. It gives all types of developmental support to be the best teachers we’re capable of being. The full monetary value of the fellowship is supposed to be around $150,000 for all the kinds of professional development, support conferences and classroom material.”
When did you know you wanted to be a teacher?
“I have always known I wanted to be a teacher. I found in my kindergarten journals I wanted to be an art teacher. Every year I wanted to teach that grade, but I started to realize I really liked math and I liked figuring out how people think. My high school science teacher was fantastic and inspired me to teach physics, which has the same math concepts with real-life applications.”
Are you ready to begin teaching in the fall?
“I’m really excited to have my own classroom. The school I’m teaching at has a lot of physics teachers and a lot of schools in the district to work with. I’ll also have the fellowship to collaborate with. I’m really excited to implement a lot of new ideas and get a chance to teach.”
