SoRo Resident Earns Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching
By Susan Jones

Jennifer Hewitt, a South Royalton resident and a teacher at the Pomfret School, was recently given the 2006 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

The award is given in recognition of teachers who have shown dedication to teaching students and maintaining high standards of teaching. Nominated by two colleagues at her school, she was notified May 1 that she was one of 93 nationwide recipients of this prestigious award. Receiving this award, the nation's highest for teachers, included a commendation from President George W. Bush, a trip to Washington, D.C. for celebratory events, and a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Currently there is an emphasis at the national level on science, technology, engineering, and math education; higher order skills are needed for these fields.

"There is a difference between conceptual skills and computational skills," Hewitt stated. "You need to know how to do basic math, but also need to think about problems and how to solve them."

In her classes, Hewitt encourages students to verbalize what they see, think about what they are doing, and increase their understanding of the situation at hand.

Hewitt's dedication to teaching is not limited to her fourth grade class. She is also an ardent supporter of those who have a desire to become teachers. In addition to her time spent in the classroom, she is involved in the Upper Valley Teacher Institute, where she is a mentor to teacher interns. This fall she had a great experience where one of the student teachers in her classroom had been in her first teaching class.

Hewitt grew up in a family of teachers, including her father who has been a teacher for 29 years, and knew she wanted to be a teacher as well. After graduating from St. Michael's College in Colchester, she started to work at the Pomfret School. The first year she was there, the town had consolidated five one-room schoolhouses into one school. Sixteen years later, she is still at the Pomfret School, teaching many subjects, including mathematics. She considers teaching to be a rewarding profession, though not for everyone.

Hewitt lives in South Royalton with her husband, who is a physical education teacher at South Royalton School, and their two children.