Eagle River, AK - Mathematics
The Presidential Award is especially meaningful to me because I teach math to special education students who have failed at math previously and believe they will never need math in life. I enjoy bringing my passion for math to struggling students and creating future mathematicians. Receiving this award is an exceptional honor, not just for myself, but for all my students who learn to be successful, believe in their abilities, and develop their own love of math along the way.
Ms. Hulsebus is a special education teacher who believes in hands-on collaborative learning. Considering that she has challenging students in her class, she successfully maintains a sound and safe community of learners. Ms. Hulsebus has high expectations for her students and helps them meet those expectations. For example, she created a "mini society," where students learn about mathematics through buying and selling activities.
As one of only eight mathematics enrichment teachers in the district, Ms. Hulsebus also teaches students from the surrounding elementary schools. Students in these classes are in the top five percent of their class. She makes assessments of their levels of understanding and develops a strategic plan to enrich their learning experience. Ms. Hulsebus encourages students to work together and pool their knowledge, which contributes to the students' learning process and reduces their anxiety about attending classes with older students.
Ms. Hulsebus has participated in a graduate-level institute for K-12 teachers sponsored by the Alaska Math Consortium and two levels of a course on writing effective assessments to help determine how to tailor the education system to meet the needs of special education students. She has been a districtwide presenter on standards-based assessment. She coteaches Integrating Effective Assessments, which teaches K-12 teachers how to effectively integrate assessments in their classrooms. She is also a Teacher-Leader for the Alaska State Writing Consortium, which is part of the National Writing Project.
Ms. Hulsebus has a B.A. in elementary education, special education learning disabilities, and special education behavior disorders from Buena Vista University. She is certified in special education disability, special education emotional disorders, and elementary education and has a reading endorsement from the Alaska Department of Education.
