CCSD Teachers Selected for National Fellowship, Mentorship

Two Cherokee County School District teachers have been selected to participate in a national science education program: one as a fellow and one as a mentor!

Mill Creek Middle School eighth-grade science teacher Belynda Laing is the recipient of a year-long Xplorlab Educator Fellowship, one of only 36 honorees in the nation and one of two from CCSD.  Mill Creek MS STEM teacher Samantha Daugherty, who earned a fellowship last year, was selected by the organization to serve as a mentor this year. It recently was announced that Cherokee HS teacher Brandt Webster was named a fellow as well.

UL Research Institutes, a nonprofit safety science organization, offers the fellowship program to provide the nation’s top science teachers with professional learning experiences focused on science safety.  As part of the fellowship, teachers design and implement an innovative, inquiry-based learning experience for their students, bringing authentic scientific investigation into the classroom.  We’re on a mission to be the highest-performing school district in Georgia where students are learning more, growing more, and achieving more in our classrooms than they could anywhere else!

Fellows are selected based on a proven track record for bringing real-world, hands-on learning into the classroom, collaboration with peers to develop and refine safety science lessons, and commitment to sharing resources and best instructional practices with colleagues.

The selected teachers began their fellowship this summer by attending the UL Research Institutes’ Annual Research Symposium in Chicago, where they collaborated with leading scientists and educators from across the country.  During the symposium, participants explored cutting-edge topics such as fire forensics and lithium-ion battery safety and how these real-world concepts can enrich science instruction.

As part of the program, the fellows also share their work and best practices with fellow educators throughout the year before presenting their projects at the National Science Teaching Association Conference this spring.

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