Nami Stager

I began my teaching career in 2005 at Booker T. Washington Academy, a Title I school, where the majority of students came from lower socio-economic households. As you can imagine, this presented many challenges, both academically and from a lack of resources. I learned early in that position how to successfully accommodate high needs students by supplementing the curriculum with accommodations to scaffold lessons, which enabled students to become more confident and motivated learners. I recognized that effective and consistent classroom management strategies were the key to success in developing trust. Due to a lack of funding, I wrote many grants to supplement the curriculum, which provided experiential learning activities and modules laying the groundwork for my classroom teaching approach.

 In 2008, I was asked to join Northern Elementary School to improve state-wide test scores in Reading, Math, and Science. At Northern, I learned the importance of including community members, families, and other faculty members as collaborative stakeholders. Through a series of community outreach events and real-world simulated lessons, students took strong ownership of their personal academic achievements. In 2010, I was selected as one of just two Kentucky teachers to receive the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award. I was humbled and honored by this recognition.

 Upon recommendation of the Superintendent at the time, Stu Silberman, I was provided the opportunity to pilot the first STEM Laboratory in Fayette County Public Schools at Wellington Elementary. My mandate was to design all the STEM curriculum, purchase supplies, and manage a budget of $25,000 for kindergarten through fifth-grade students. The STEM program, at its core, was based on design thinking. My biggest initiative was to have students iterate, plan, design, and build various important parts of the school, such as the garden, a barn owl nest for observation, shelving for storage, solar-powered roof installations to reduce energy costs, and wind turbine weather stations, among other projects. In 2014, I was awarded the Lexmark INSPIRE Teaching Award and a substantial monetary grant to use in the classroom.

As of 2015, I have been the Lower School Science Specialist at The Wellington School in Columbus, Ohio. I inherited a curriculum that was outdated and centered on teacher-led lessons. I was given the autonomy to revitalize the learning experience and curriculum for kindergarten to fourth-grade students. I incorporated from my past experiences, lessons that involve the highest level of engagement through hands-on learning activities, community involvement, and cross-collaboration among all other content department heads. I get ecstatic daily to hear the joy of learning among my students and feel the excitement and camaraderie from my colleagues. One of the most important initiatives I have started is increasing the number of hours students spend outdoors during science class time. This includes field trips, gardening, service-learning opportunities, and on and off-campus events. The capstone experience for all fourth graders is an overnight camping trip in the spring, where all students showcase and apply their science knowledge. In 2020, I was recognized as the winner of the Columbus Parent Magazine Teacher of the Year. This award is based on parent nominations and applications.

• Master of Arts in Instructional Leadership
• Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education

• Milken Educator Award 2010
• Lexmark International STEM award 2014
• Columbus Ohio Parent Magazine Finalist
• Horace Mann Award 2015

• NSTA
• ASTA