The Presidential Award validates my efforts in and out of the classroom. It acknowledges my efforts to foster appreciation of the power of mathematics in my students. It recognizes my ongoing development and the efforts of those who have helped me become the teacher I am. Just as I ask my students to grow, so I as a teacher have grown and must continue to grow. I am not the teacher I was as I began my career, nor am I the teacher I aspire to be when I complete my career.
Cynthia Burke has been an educator in Marshall County for 33 years, teaching mathematics courses at Sherrard Middle School that range from Math 7 through Algebra 2.
Cynthia’s love of teaching goes well beyond the classroom. She serves as a staff member for the West Virginia Department of Education’s Teacher Leadership Institute. She has developed standards-based mathematics units and project-based learning units for use throughout the State. Her classroom has been designated a Model Classroom, and a video on the State website features her students engaged in activities from her standards-based algebra unit.
Cynthia serves as a project manager for unit design teams charged with developing project-based learning units for use throughout the State. She mentors and reads for candidates applying for National Board Certification. As a member of the West Virginia Instructional Materials Advisory Committee, she facilitates the review of all instructional materials for the State. Cynthia was also elected historian for the West Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Cynthia has a B.S. in Mathematics from Wheeling Jesuit University and an M.A. in Mathematics from West Virginia University. She is state certified in mathematics at the secondary level and has achieved National Board Certification in mathematics.
- High-resolution version of the official portrait photograph
- Awardee holding Presidential citation between the Director of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Subra Suresh and the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. John P. Holdren
- High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph
