Farmington math teacher honored by White House
Farmington Elementary fourthgrade math teacher Anna Brignole was one of 140 teachers honored with the 2018 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
The award presented by the White House is one of the highest awards for K-12 teachers. It is given to individuals and organizations for their excellence in teaching or mentoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The award alternates between grade K-6 teachers and grade 7-12 teachers each year.
Brignole was one of two teachers in the state to receive the award in addition to $10,000. The other state honoree was Adam Maitland from Ball Camp Elementary School in Knoxville.
Farmington Principal Zac Percoski said it was “exciting” to have one of the honorees in his school.
“It just proves that Mrs. Brignole goes above and beyond,” Percoski said. “She really knows her craft. She takes each student and their needs and meets them where they are.”
Percoski said Melissa Hurt, Germantown Municipal School District instructional supervisor, recommended Brignole as a strong candidate for the award.
“She definitely has an organic (natural) classroom environment,” Hurt said. “The students almost don’t even know they are doing math because they are so engaged. She’s a natural teacher, and nothing is forced in the classroom.”
Melissa Hurt
Brignole, who comes from a long line of educators, has been at Farmington for five years.
Last week each fourth-grade student in class looked at Brignole as she taught about rounding numbers. Many eagerly lifted hands to answer her questions.
She walked around the room as her students completed a math problem. When a student asked a question, she responded with a question, allowing them to come up with the answer on their own and asked them why they arrived at their answers.
“My biggest platform is to create problem-solvers instead of answer-getters,” she said. “They need to be able to flexibly think about numbers.”
She referred to her students as “mathematicians.”
“They own the problem and get the result,” Brignole said.
Brignole said applying for the award took two years, but the result was rewarding.
“It was a hard process, but it has made me think about the way I teach,” she said. “It makes me comfortable to step outside my comfort zone a little bit more.”
She had to create a lesson plan which she taught as she was filmed. She then wrote reflection papers that explained the standards taught and her teaching method.
“Then I got parent recommendations and did even more reflection,” she said.
Brignole did not know she had won the award until after she arrived in D.C. this summer. She said she was excited to know her hard work had paid off. During her time there, she was able to meet many other award winners.
“It was cool to see we are all different, but at the core how our lessons are similar,” she said. “We shared the lessons that got us (to D.C).”
She and other award winners collaborated and met with legislators and were able to attend a STEM summit where President Donald Trump’s fiveyear commitment to STEM was announced as required by the COMPETES Act of 2010.
Brignole said she learned a lot at the summit, but she is excited to be back in the classroom.
She wants to coach another GMSD teacher through the award application.
“Who’s next?” she asked. “There are lots of other great teachers.”