THE SOUTH CAROLINA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

presents

The 2007 Award for Excellence

In Secondary School Science Discovery

To

MICHELLE MARY KATHERINE SUTTON

Teacher of Biology and Research

Spring Valley High School

Columbia, S.C.

 Miss Sutton received a BS in Biology from the Honors College at USC in 2001, and a MAT in Natural Science in 2003. At Spring Valley High School she serves as Research Director for the Magnet Math and Sciences Programs, as Head of the Biology Department and as mentor for new teachers. As the Technology Mentor for her school, she is truly a competent professional with an unsurpassed knowledge of scientific instrumentation which she shares with both teachers and students.

 Michelle Sutton spends an inordinate number of hours beyond the school day on student research and AP Biology test preparation, resulting in a 93% pass rate on the AP Biology College Boards. A professor at USC observes that the countless hours spent working with students to develop methodology, perform experiments, analyze data and edit research papers and presentations reflect Miss Sutton's true passion for scientific research. Michelle says that she tries to make every lesson personally relevant to students and their lives. For example, some of her first AP students showed a lack of knowledge or interest in plants, so she centered the curriculum design around hands-on learning. Students now raise all of their own plants, make daily observations and perform experiments on them. They are much more excited about the connections revealed through daily observations of the plant life cycle, and they have come to realize that science is a way of learning through Discovery.

 Miss Sutton is Spring Valley's SCJAS sponsor. She has brought over 70 presenters during the past four years to the SCJAS Annual Meeting. She is also greatly involved in local science fairs as sponsor and judge.

 Miss Sutton has accompanied South Carolina students to the International Science Fair twice and three times has taken her award-winning students to the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposia sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. She was the honored recipient of the Junior Science and Humanities Teacher Award in 2005 and 2006. Last year she received the SCJAS Sponsor Award.

 The assistant principal for Curriculum and Instruction who nominated her tells us that "Michelle Sutton is an incredible professional, phenomenal teacher and possesses numerous talents that she shares with others. Her impact on student learning, student achievement and the education profession is profound." But it is her tireless spirit of giving the tools and knowledge of Science to those whose lives she touches that makes her exemplary.