Press Release
For Release: June 10, 2010
Photo: Download a photo of Greta Mills
New Hampshire Charitable Foundation awards the 2010 Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical
CONCORD, N.H. - Greta Mills, a mathematics teacher at Hanover High School, has been named the 2010 recipient of the Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical. The sabbatical is awarded annually by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. It will be presented to Mills at the New Hampshire Excellence in Education Awards ceremony, informally known as the “ED”ies, on Saturday, June 12 at the Center of New Hampshire in Manchester, N.H.
The Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical program provides an opportunity for one New Hampshire teacher annually to explore new ways to enhance classroom teaching through a self-designed project, the results from which may be used to help enrich the teaching profession statewide.
Ms. Mills, of Springfield, received the award for her proposed project 'Students as mathematicians: making real-world applications truly realistic,' to develop activities in modeling with mathematics for all secondary levels. Activities would focus on identifying interesting and open-ended problems which students would explore and resolve in collaborative groups.
"Mathematics is the language we use to quantify and describe the world around us. Yet, mathematics curriculum often focuses on building a skills set without seeing how to draw on that skills set in the context of a real problem," said Ms. Mills. "This project is based on a course I developed at Hanover High School, where the goal is for students to behave as mathematicians do: address meaningful problems while developing the necessary mathematical tools in an environment of collaboration, investigation, modeling and sharing of ideas."
Ms. Mills has taught mathematics for the past 14 years; the last 10 at Hanover High School. She is the school's math team coach and advisor to the CoMAP (The Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications) Competition, a 36-hour contest in mathematical modeling.
Mills is also a passionate musician serving as an arranger for high school a cappella groups and accompanist for various musicals. In 2009, Mills was a New Hampshire State Finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. She received her B.A. in Mathematics and Music Performance and is pursuing her Masters of Education from Plymouth State University.
The Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical was established in 1986, when Governor John Sununu and the New Hampshire legislature had the foresight to permanently endow a fund that each year provides for a leave of absence to another talented New Hampshire teacher.
The statewide program is administered by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation with oversight from a steering committee made up of the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, the Chair of the of the State Board of Education, the Presidents of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers and a McAuliffe family member.
About the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation serves communities throughout New Hampshire, southeastern Maine and eastern Vermont. The Foundation manages a growing collection of charitable funds created by individuals, families and businesses, and awards about $30 million annually in grants and scholarships. The Charitable Foundation is nonpartisan, frequently playing the role of convener and catalyst on a broad spectrum of issues. Based in Concord, the Charitable Foundation roots itself in the communities through regional advisory boards. More information is available at www.nhcf.org or by calling 603-225-6641.
For further information, please contact:
Julia Olivares, 603-225-6641 ext. 1244 or e-mail
Kristen Oliveri, 603-225-6641 ext. 1267 or e-mail
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