Instead of relying on math and science textbooks, Linda Helveston 's fourth-grade students at Leacock Elementary School in Gordonville use hands-on activities, manipulatives and cooperative learning to cover the required material. In 1997, Mrs. Helveston received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Education for a hands-on unit she created using Legos® to teach concepts of motion and energy. Hands-on science kits for home schoolers she devised are being replicated throughout her district. A member of the district’s science curriculum committee, Mrs. Helveston regularly presents workshops on active learning approaches for science and math. In 1992 she was one of four teachers selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to teach in Japan for one year.
I was a finalist for Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year in 2001. In 2006 I was selected to the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program. It was the sea scallop survey out of Woods Hole. I worked beside real scientists doing real research - one of the high lights of my career. Since retiring I have been a volunteer in a first grade classroom and my son's sixth grade. Watching my son interact with his students warms my heart. I live in the heart of Amish County here in Lancaster and am using my teaching skills as a part time step on tour guide. I share the beautiful countryside and the Amish culture with visitors from all over the USA and abroad. More often than not someone comments about the teacher in me shining through.
1966 Millersville University of Pennsylvania, B.A. , MEd 1991
