SMS teacher vies for national award

SANDPOINT — Teaching is more than a career for Sandpoint Middle School math teacher Kathy Prummer, it is something she was born to do.

“I love the 'aha' moments,” Prummer said. “I love to watch them grow. Some people are 'born teachers.' I have come to understand that I am one of them.”

Prummer has been selected as one of three Idaho state finalists for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The award honors teachers who provide a high-quality instructional program and enhance student learning.

Students in Prummer's class learn math for the “real world.” Prummer said she always walks the classroom asking the students questions to help them understand math better, but said the most valuable asset is interacting with the students during class while they work on problem solving.

“I work really hard and I am willing to take risks,” Prummer said. “It is not easy to set aside everything you have always known and dive into the deep water, but that is really what teachers have had to do since our state adopted Idaho Core.”

Prummer said her middle and high school math teachers left her without a solid understanding of math. They stood at the front of the class, modeled how to solve problems and expected the students to understand by doing homework for practice. She said she longed for “real-world applications.”

“It wasn't until I went back to school to re-certify in Idaho that I was exposed to true understanding in mathematics,” Prummer said. “It was the first day of the rest of my life and I want every student I teach to have that same experience.”

She said she has become vulnerable about her own learning and growth as a math teacher, and is not afraid to ask for help. She said the students learn from her willingness.

“This creates a safe place for kids and invites them to share in that process,” Prummer said. “They are more willing to take risks, to make mistakes, and to grow through their mistakes. My classroom is a collaborative environment where all of us learn from each other.”

Prummer has not always been a teacher. She grew up in Oregon and visited friends in Sandpoint while she was in high school. When her oldest son was born in 1991, the family moved to town. They opened Winter Ridge Natural Foods in 1997, and co-managed that until she returned to school to re-certify to teach in Idaho. She started with the Lake Pend Oreille School District in 2006.

Superintendent Shawn Woodward said Prummer is an instructional leader for the region, not just the district. He said it is the people in the school district that make a difference.

“Kathy understands as a teacher that mathematics in isolation is not enough for our students. She makes mathematics come alive in her classroom through applying math practice to real world problem solving,” Woodward said. “People ask frequently what we attribute our success as a school district to and Kathy is a shining example.”

Prummer was the business manager for the family business, and said it helped her understand math in a real world setting. She has a wider perspective on life that benefits herself and her students, she said.

“I learned a lot of conceptual, real-world math during those first eight years of Winter Ridge,” Prummer said. “When it's your own money and your whole family is on the line, the real world problem solving becomes essential.”

Prummer was nominated by the Region I Math Specialist Abe Wallin. He has been working with and mentoring Prummer in the classroom. Wallin was the instructor for a math class all Idaho teachers were required to take. Prummer took the class for secondary math teachers, even though she taught fifth grade. She said she took the process seriously and Wallin was a big help in achieving that goal.

“The content was really challenging for me, but I began to find success and wanted to try some of the new ideas I was learning with my own students,” Prummer said. “Abe saw my willingness to learn and to prepare my students to get ready for Idaho Core four years before we started the Smarter Balanced Assessment.”

Once nominated, Prummer had to apply for the award. The application included a video of her teaching, a resume, letters of recommendation and a written report showing a mastery of math for the grade level taught, the use of strategies appropriate for students that support learning, effective use of student assessments, discuss life-long learning and leadership outside of the classroom.

“It was an arduous process that really happened over nearly a five-year period,” Prummer said.

The winner will be announced next summer. The awardee is given a certificate signed by the President of the United States and $10,000. An awards banquet will be held in Washington, D.C.