SHENANDOAH JUNCTION, W.Va. -- Jefferson High School's Dayna Juraschek is a state finalist for the National Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science, the nation's highest honor for K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teaching. The award recognizes a teacher's deep content knowledge of the subjects they teach and their ability to motivate and enable students to be successful. Juraschek, who heads the JHS Science Department, said it is an honor to be nominated.
"It is still pretty surreal," she said. "Hopefully, we will know if I made it as the national winner in the summer."
Juraschek has already put in a great deal of work to demonstrate her positive impact on student achievement. She completed this work across five content areas, focusing primarily on the mastery of content, leadership, and effective teaching.
Juraschek earned her Bachelor's Degree in Biology and Master's Degree in Secondary Science Education from Virginia Tech. She has taught at Jefferson High School since 2014. Her selection at the state level was based on a review by a selection committee made up of mathematicians, scientists, mathematics/science education researchers, district-level personnel, and classroom teachers. Selection committees choose up to six finalists - three from each award category - for recognition at the state and jurisdiction level.