Shaking President Barack Obama's hand isn't the only exciting thing that has happened to Dana Islas in the past two months. She also received the 2008 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, had a baby girl and moved to a new house.
"It's been like a whirlwind," Islas says. "I mean, [they're] all wonderful things. I feel very fortunate."
Islas, who has been a kindergarten teacher at Pueblo Gardens Elementary School for seven years, received the award in early January for her work in teaching math. The award was administered in Washington, D.C., by the National Science Foundation on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
She still remembers the day she opened her e-mail and found out she won the award.
"I had to keep reading it over and over because I couldn't understand if I got it or I didn't get it, because I couldn't wrap my head around [it]," Islas says. "It was very exciting. I cried. I called my husband, and I called my mom."
While receiving the award at the White House, Islas met Obama, who she says is "very personable.
"He seems like a genuinely nice, kind man, truly interested in improving education," she says.
She emphasizes math education because "there are connections to math in every aspect of our lives and I try to help the kids see that. Math is really the gatekeeper for their future success."
Marco Ramirez, principal at Pueblo Gardens, says what he thinks makes Islas stand out is that she creates an atmosphere in her classroom that is exceptional throughout the school year.
"From my perspective, excellence is not a single moment in time, but it's a daily experience," Ramirez says. "We get excited about a single event, when what Dana does is provide an event that lasts 180 days."
Islas says she gets the students involved as much as possible. She plays a game called One More, One Fewer with her students where the students become the "math manipulatives," or the gummy bears or jellybeans usually used to teach children addition and subtraction.
The kindergarteners add and subtract themselves from 10 taped-out squares on the floor based on the number on a card Islas shows them.
"It's a chance for all of us to have a conversation. If there's a mistake, that's a learning opportunity," she says.
Islas says parents expect their children to learn to read, but they don't always expect their children to understand math, which is just as important for their futures.
"When you're trying to decide what you want to be when you grow up, if math is a scary or difficult subject area for you, it's going to really limit what you can pursue," she says. "So I don't want my kids to be limited."
Islas knew she wanted to be a teacher since high school, and as a child she played school with her younger sister. Around the age of eight, she made her one-year-old brother flashcards so he could learn new words.
Islas grew up in Stewartstown, Penn., and graduated from the University of Arizona. Her parents moved to Tucson around the time she graduated, so Islas decided to stay in Tucson.
She has been teaching for 14 years, 12 of those in kindergarten where she plans to continue teaching.
"I've been asked to go up to higher grade levels, but I'm really happy with the early childhood," Islas says. "There's so much discovery and curiosity and they love school. ... It's just a really exciting time."
Islas says there's constant tweaking and changing to her teaching methods.
"There are strategies that are just generally good teaching strategies, but sometimes you have to make adjustments for the class that you have," she says.
Ramirez recognizes her ability to consistently grow as a teacher.
"The thing that I always appreciated about Dana ... [is] she was one of those people who was always a sponge for learning," Ramirez says. "And when she would learn something she would go back and try it in the classroom and work it through her teaching."
What makes Islas exceptional is that she's constantly researching her teaching methods and improving herself, says Ramirez, who has known Islas for about 20 years and personally recruited her to teach at Pueblo Gardens when he became principal.
Islas not only excels at having great content knowledge and instructional ability, which are important at Pueblo Gardens, but in other ways as well, Ramirez says.
"You can't do content and instruction without having kindness and heart for children," he says. "She's a complete package."
Islas is writing a book of math lessons, games, ideas and tips for teachers. In fact, she was e-mailing her editor pages when she went into labor with her daughter, Julianna.
The book writing is on hold as Islas, who is on maternity leave, takes care of her newborn and her 17-month-old, Isabella.
Islas says she misses her class and is excited to see them when she returns mid-February, but she is cherishing her time with her daughters, including 19-year-old Kirsten and using the break to unpack the moving boxes in her new home.
In one of the boxes, Islas says, is her award certificate signed by Obama – reminding Islas of her trip to Washington, D.C., and her award, which she calls, "an experience of a lifetime."
