Angela McLean has been so effective at teaching economics, government and social studies to her students at Anaconda High School in Anaconda that two former students became state legislators within months of graduating from her class. A National Board Certified teacher, McLean frequently connects classroom lessons with the real world, coordinating school visits and teleconferences with elected officials and engaging students in a mock Supreme Court, a mock legislature and a mock United Nations. To deepen the real-world connection, McLean and her students have hosted public forums on topics such as the Superfund law, which was the first-ever public forum on the subject to involve the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the ARCO Corporation, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Anaconda Deer Lodge County officials and others. Her students have also hosted forums involving candidates running for public office, and even organized a public forum to hear from candidates for Anaconda High's new school principal. She was appointed to serve on the Montana Board of Public Education in 2005, and in her second year was elected vice chair of the board.
1994 Western Montana College, B.S.
