Deborah Neinast Harris is a seventh-grade science teacher and the science department chairman at St. Francis Episcopal Day School in Houston, TX. Ms. Harris has taught at St. Francis for six years. Prior to that time she taught pre-kindergarten, developed the science program, and taught sixth-grade science. Ms. Harris was a research microbiologist before choosing science teaching as her profession.
Ms. Harris is known as a teacher who can explain the most complex concept to the weakest student. Her lessons are considered animated and exploratory, inspiring children to love science. Her students consider her a fun teacher. Former students attribute their success in advanced courses to her teaching, and she continues to serve as a mentor to these students. She develops and sponsors a group of science students to compete in the Academic Decathlon and Lego Robotics contests.
Ms. Harris has been School Teacher of the Year and the Houston Independent School District’s Teacher of the Year. She has also received the Houston Chronicle’s Crystal Award for Outstanding Teaching and Teacher of the Year in Science for Students With Disabilities. Ms. Harris was the winner of the National Association of Independent Schools Challenge 20/20 Global Partnership in which Ms. Harris and her students partnered with a school in Honduras to solve water pollution problems.
Ms. Harris holds a Texas Teaching Certificate for pre-kindergarten through grade six and a Texas Teaching Certificate for middle school science. She has a B.S. in microbiology (with a minor in chemistry) from Texas Tech University. She has also taken graduate courses in curriculum and teaching techniques from the University of St. Thomas in Texas. She is a nationally registered and certified microbiologist and is nationally registered as a laboratory professional.