Lowe’s Grove Middle School teacher Jamila Bowser has been named the national 2009 SECME Teacher of the Year. Each year, SECME, Inc. (formerly the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering) recognizes outstanding K-12 educators who have demonstrated leadership ability in advancing student development and outcomes in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

Bowser was selected from four finalists that had previously been chosen from a pool of nominees based on submission of extensive portfolios that were judged by a panel of educators.  The other finalists were from Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida, Rock Island/Milan Public School District # 41 in Illinois and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee.

Bowser was cited for having demonstrated exemplary accomplishments in building and/or sustaining a successful SECME school program through creative and enriching curricular/extracurricular activities, thereby increasing the number of historically under-represented students who are interested in, and academically prepared for, studies in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).

Bowser was recognized at an “Evening of Elegance” celebration sponsored by the ExxonMobil Foundation held at the Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences last month.

For more information, contact Lowe’s Grove Principal Kathy Kirkpatrick, 560-3946, or Lynda Byrne, SECME Education Program Manager, 404-385-2728.