Teacher Grant: Brad Rhew

OUR

THE WINSTON-SALEM FOUNDATION

COMMUNITY OUR CONNECTING

2015 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY | 2014 ANNUAL REPORT

TE A C H E R G R A N T

BRAD RHEW

“These kids are our future scientists — and future doctors, teachers, politicians, entrepreneurs, and business leaders.

We need to find every way possible of investing in them.”

B

RAD RHEW LOVES SCIENCE. And he loves teaching. Put the two together and he gets

really excited.

That excitement is obvious to the students at Walkertown Middle School, where Brad is an eighth grade science teacher.

“I love teaching eighth grade,” he said. “I love the science content, and I love when I see a student making real-world connections with the science.”

Brad just started his sixth year of teaching. But he’s accomplished a lot in a short time. He’s earned several awards, including the N.C. Teacher of Excellence Award. His energy, creativity, and interactive teaching style get him noticed, but for Brad that’s just how it’s done.

“Science is a very hands-on subject. You shouldn’t just read it; you should do science,” he said. “With eighth graders, you’ve got to find a way to make it about something they know or care about.”

Brad double majored in science and social studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He still likes to pair together different topics, working with other teachers on his team to connect the science curriculum with history, literature, or math.

“We want students to think about connections,” he said. “The units they score best on in the science end-of-grade tests are the ones where we bring ideas together, taking that cross-disciplinary approach.”

In 2014, Brad received a Forsyth County Teacher Grant from the Foundation to create an interdisciplinary, interactive unit that combined the study of oceans with robotics and maritime history.

Brad connected with a scientist from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who came to the school to help him teach for two days. With the grant, Brad purchased supplies — PVC pipe and propellers — so that students could design and build functioning, underwater robots.

The NOAA educator brought in special motors and extra supplies. She explained how underwater robots work and how they have been used to explore the Titanic and shipwrecks off the North Carolina coast. Then in small groups, students made their own simple robots and headed to the Kernersville YMCA to testdrive their devices in the pool. The next school year, the project was repeated, and students were able to showcase their work to family and other students at the school-wide science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) night. As a result of the project, concepts in the curriculum, such as buoyancy and density, became tangible to more than 220 kids at Walkertown Middle.

“When something I do opens up a door for them, that’s so awesome,” said Brad. “Through this grant, I have been able to show students something they never thought about. Kids are learning about oceanography and robots, and thinking, maybe I could do this with my life. Or it gets them thinking about college.”

“These kids are our future scientists — and future doctors, teachers, politicians, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. We need to find every way possible of investing in them. That’s what I’m passionate about.”

BRAD RHEW, an eighth-grade science teacher at Walkertown Middle School, received a 2014 Forsyth County Teacher Grant of $1,100 to support hands-on learning about oceans that included bringing in an expert from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A teacher since 2010, Brad was named the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School’s middle school “Teacher of Promise” in 2011 and the N.C. Outstanding K-8 Educator by the N.C. Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center in 2014. He also earned the N.C. Teacher of Excellence Award from the N.C. Association of Educators in 2014.

the winston-salem foundation annual report

OUR COMMUNITY CONNECTING

[30-31]

TE A C H E R G R A N T

BRAD RHEW

“These kids are our future scientists — and future doctors, teachers, politicians, entrepreneurs, and business leaders.

We need to find every way possible of investing in them.”

B

RAD RHEW LOVES SCIENCE. And he loves teaching. Put the two together and he gets

really excited.

That excitement is obvious to the students at Walkertown Middle School, where Brad is an eighth grade science teacher.

“I love teaching eighth grade,” he said. “I love the science content, and I love when I see a student making real-world connections with the science.”

Brad just started his sixth year of teaching. But he’s accomplished a lot in a short time. He’s earned several awards, including the N.C. Teacher of Excellence Award. His energy, creativity, and interactive teaching style get him noticed, but for Brad that’s just how it’s done.

“Science is a very hands-on subject. You shouldn’t just read it; you should do science,” he said. “With eighth graders, you’ve got to find a way to make it about something they know or care about.”

Brad double majored in science and social studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He still likes to pair together different topics, working with other teachers on his team to connect the science curriculum with history, literature, or math.

“We want students to think about connections,” he said. “The units they score best on in the science end-of-grade tests are the ones where we bring ideas together, taking that cross-disciplinary approach.”

In 2014, Brad received a Forsyth County Teacher Grant from the Foundation to create an interdisciplinary, interactive unit that combined the study of oceans with robotics and maritime history.

Brad connected with a scientist from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who came to the school to help him teach for two days. With the grant, Brad purchased supplies — PVC pipe and propellers — so that students could design and build functioning, underwater robots.

The NOAA educator brought in special motors and extra supplies. She explained how underwater robots work and how they have been used to explore the Titanic and shipwrecks off the North Carolina coast. Then in small groups, students made their own simple robots and headed to the Kernersville YMCA to testdrive their devices in the pool. The next school year, the project was repeated, and students were able to showcase their work to family and other students at the school-wide science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) night. As a result of the project, concepts in the curriculum, such as buoyancy and density, became tangible to more than 220 kids at Walkertown Middle.

“When something I do opens up a door for them, that’s so awesome,” said Brad. “Through this grant, I have been able to show students something they never thought about. Kids are learning about oceanography and robots, and thinking, maybe I could do this with my life. Or it gets them thinking about college.”

“These kids are our future scientists — and future doctors, teachers, politicians, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. We need to find every way possible of investing in them. That’s what I’m passionate about.”

BRAD RHEW, an eighth-grade science teacher at Walkertown Middle School, received a 2014 Forsyth County Teacher Grant of $1,100 to support hands-on learning about oceans that included bringing in an expert from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A teacher since 2010, Brad was named the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School’s middle school “Teacher of Promise” in 2011 and the N.C. Outstanding K-8 Educator by the N.C. Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center in 2014. He also earned the N.C. Teacher of Excellence Award from the N.C. Association of Educators in 2014.

the winston-salem foundation annual report

OUR COMMUNITY CONNECTING

[30-31]