As a high school teacher at C.D. Hylton Senior High School, Lauren Anne Wilson takes every opportunity to empower students, increase their knowledge, and help them find their own love for mathematics. She is able to reach math students across the spectrum of aptitude and ability. For example, during the 2011-12 school year, she and her colleagues earned the highest pass rate (when compared to other Prince William County high schools) for students enrolled in Algebra I Double Block. Students in this class are the most at-risk with a history of low math scores in the classroom and on standardized tests. By 2013-14, the pass rate in the class increased by more than 20 percentage points. Her students' scores directly impacted Hylton's pass rate to be the highest in the county when compared to other schools offering this class. As another testament to Wilson's teaching prowess, enrollment in AP Calculus BC doubled to 31 students and every single student passed the AP exam. The AP pass rate increased from 35% to 85% in one year after she started teaching AP, a notable feat. Her students passed the exam with a mean score of 4.45, higher than the national average of 3.89, the state average of 3.81 and the district average of 3.72. Wilson, whose mother was also a teacher, graduated from Hylton and has taught there since her first year teaching in 2001. Early in her career, Wilson took on a leadership position and is now considered "the voice of the teachers" and a "go-to" person at the school. She is well-known throughout the district and conducted a workshop for math professional development after only three years in the district. Due to her promotion of the co-teaching model, the school has been selected as a demonstration site by the Virginia Department of Education Excellence in Co-Teaching initiative. As a result of her leadership, Wilson became the lead mentor at Hylton. She meets regularly with the teacher mentors and mentees to offer guidance and constructive feedback. She plans, organizes and presents at monthly meetings to provide continuous support to teachers, which has translated to engaging classrooms where students are challenged and succeeding academically. Wilson was the school's volleyball and soccer coach from 2001 through 2013. To help incoming freshman girls get acclimated to their new school, she created a summer volleyball program. Other high schools in the area have since incorporated this into their programming. So parents could become better informed about the AP and Pre-AP math courses offered at the school, Wilson led a math articulation meeting where parents learned firsthand about the expectations and outcomes for each course. Wilson graduated from the University of Virginia, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics in 2001. She earned her Master of Education in 2004 from the University of Mary Washington.
