Mickie Ann Richardson teaches AP biology, biology, and conceptual biology at Parkersburg South High School in Parkersburg, WV. Ms. Richardson has been teaching science classes for approximately 19 years. She is the sponsor of the Women in Science Club and has served as the school’s summer science camp coordinator and science department chair. Ms. Richardson also served on the State and county textbook adoption committees and as vice president of the West Virginia Science Teachers Association.
Ms. Richardson has a strong connection to her students, particularly for her female students through the Women in Science Club. Former female students who participated in the club indicate the field trips were memorable as well as helpful to them and opened up new career possibilities. Ms. Richardson serves as a mentor for students who participate in national science competitions, such as for a student who was invited to New York for the BRICK Award and to Washington, DC, for the INTEL Science Talent Search. Ms. Richardson also participates in the local wetlands committee; her students study the water quality of the wetlands.
Ms. Richardson has been recognized by the Governor of West Virginia as the teacher with the students best able to represent the State at a five-day National Youth Watershed Summit. She also received a National Science Foundation Grant for Women in Science and was the 2007 West Virginia Biology Teacher of the Year.
A National Board Certified Teacher in adolescence and young adulthood science, Ms. Richardson has a B.S. in zoology with a minor in mathematics and an M.S. in biological science from Marshall University. Ms. Richardson has also taken courses in pedagogy and technology.