Polk County Native Named 2016 Outstanding Earth Science Teacher

SUBMITTED –

Will Squires, Science teacher at Caddo Hills High School, has just been named the Midcontinent 2016 Outstanding Earth Science Teacher of the Year by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT).

Each year, NAGT selects ten section winners across the United States and Canada to honor for their work and excellence in science education. Mr. Squires was selected as the winner of the Midcontinent Section, which included nominees from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. He was nominated for this prestigious award by Dr. Jim Musser, Department Head of Physical Sciences, Arkansas Tech University.

Will Squires is a native of Polk County and graduated from Van-Cove High School in 2003. Will is the son of James and Linda Squires of Cove. He has taught at Caddo Hills for eight years, five of which included teaching a physical geology course. He has always felt that the geosciences were underserved in the high school curriculum, and as a result, he has always tried to tie in the Earth sciences to all of his other classes. For the first five years, he struggled with ways to motivate and engage his students because they didn’t all show a natural desire to learn. Between his fifth and sixth years, he was able to be a part of a professional development opportunity provided by a partnership between QTL and Arkansas Tech University. It was there that he found a way to get his students engaged through the use of real-world and meaningful projects. Now, Mr. Squires is able to get students interested in geoscience ideas within other disciplines of science, as well as through the use of short-term and long-term projects. During the 2014-2015 school year, his environmental science class became a national finalist in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition with a project that dealt with flash flooding in the rural Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas.

Mr. Squires stated, “I am very grateful for this honor and thankful to all of my mentors and colleagues who have helped me to get to this point in my career. It is a privilege to be a science educator and to be a part of the Caddo Hills School District and this wonderful community.”

For more information about this award please visit: http://nagt.org/nagt/awards/oest/2016.html

About Author

Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

See author's posts