Jeffrey MervisDiversity isn’t an official criterion for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST).
But the three Black educators named to this year’s class of 107 winners announced last week say receiving the nation’s highest honor for precollege teaching makes them even more committed to fostering a more inclusive U.S.
technical workforce.“As a female and an African American, I hope I can be that face to students and teachers [from groups underrepresented in science] around the country,” says LeShundra Young, a biology teacher at Germantown High School in Madison, Mississippi. “It’s harder to relate to someone who doesn’t look like you.”The lack of diversity in the 2019 class—the other Black educators.