Sarah Reeves Young’s daily schedule has taken a tangent from her preferred day of teaching eighth grade physical science at Rowland Hall Middle School in Salt Lake City.
The 2005 School of Education alumna is spending this year away from her classroom in Washington DC at the National Science Foundation. As one of 20 Albert Einstein Fellows – one of the youngest teachers accepted into the fellowship, and the first from her home state of Utah – her days are spent working with government agencies, assisting them in effectively reaching teachers on various initiatives, participating in policy briefings, and meeting with congressional representatives and staff.
Young graduated from Lesley with a Master’s in Science Education, working closely with Professor Paul Jablon and completing a practicum at the Brookwood School in Manchester, MA. Since then, her career has skyrocketed, frequently pulling her away from her classroom – but always focused on teaching science.
She’s been a Solar System Educator with NASA, a Space Foundation Teacher Liaison, and an Academics Creating Teacher Scientists Fellow with the Jefferson Lab in Newport News, VA. She serves as an adjunct professor at Westminster College. She coaches the Science Olympiad team, and middle school girls’ volleyball, basketball, and soccer.
Then, this past April, she published her first book: Gourmet Lab: The Scientific Principles Behind Your Favorite Foods. Published by the National Science Teachers Association Press, the collection of hands-on experiments (and corresponding teachers’ guide) teaches chemistry, biology and physics through cooking, a concept she developed while teaching a summer course entitled “Edible Science” to students in Salt Lake City.
“My kids collaborated on the book,” said Young of her classroom back in Salt Lake City. “All the labs were developed in the classroom with the help and feedback of my students.”
As she continues her education career as a fellow in Washington DC for the year, she continues to keep her eyes set on returning to the classroom. “Every day, all of the fellows talk about missing the kids and how we continue to seek out opportunities to work with kids and bring programs and resources back to our schools,” Young said of her time as an Albert Einstein Fellow. Young was fortunate to have a chance to see her school community when her 8th grade class took their annual trip to Washington D.C.
When reflecting back on her path to the fellowship, Young shares “What prepared me most for being an educator was Lesley’s collaborative program. The mantra for science teachers is ‘hands on,’ and so many pieces of teaching is difficult to learn unless you have kids in a classroom to work with. While working towards my Master’s I worked at the Brookwood School, where I spent a year working with master teachers, while completing Lesley coursework. This model has become the approach to new teacher education that is being promoted by agencies such as the US Department of Education.” “So much of what we learned at Lesley – teaching through an inquiry model — I use every day, preparing me for taking on my own classroom with great success and passion,” she said. “As I travel, attend professional development conferences, I’m surprised to see that so much of what we studied at Lesley is still cutting edge in much of the country.”
The Albert Einstein Fellowship program is administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, and recognizes distinguished elementary and secondary school math and science teachers. Fellows are assigned to government agencies ranging from the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, to NASA and the U.S. Department of Education. Since its beginnings in 1994, Albert Einstein Fellows have helped craft legislation and influenced education policy in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), initiated collaborations and partnerships between government agencies, and designed STEM education programs. Young will be spending her fellowship in the National Science Foundation’s Office of International Science and Engineering.
“I’m deeply appreciative that my school has worked with me to make this year away from my classroom possible,” said Young. “The experience is incredible, and I feel like I’m contributing to something larger than a single classroom. I am gaining experiences that will make me a better resource for educational programs and policy in my school as well as my state.”
“While a student at Lesley, we were constantly exploring the idea of collaborations, of reaching beyond the classroom with our students and in our schools,” said Young. “And that’s what I’m bringing to this fellowship.”
Young is looking forward to an exciting year in DC, but reflects “Every day I’m thinking of how to apply this experience to the classroom, so that I can continue to get kids excited about science and exploring the world around them.”
