SBAR Teacher Named Arizona’s First National STEM Scholar

Sept. 22, 2021
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Jaime Camero

SBAR Teacher, Jaime Camero, teaches 6th grade at Walter Douglas Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona, and she was recently selected as one of ten National STEM Scholars in the United States. (Whoop!) The National STEM Scholar Program works to inspire the creativity and passion of middle school science teachers by choosing ten awardees each year. Teachers are selected from across the country from a wide pool of applicants. To qualify, teachers must teach science classes a majority of the day in grades 6, 7 or 8 and have at least two years of previous experience teaching science. The ten selected Scholars engage in hands-on, minds-on science activities; connect with speakers and thought leaders in STEM education; and develop a creative Challenge Project for classroom implementation during their Scholar Year.

Jaime shared her plans as a STEM Scholar:

“My plan as Arizona’s first STEM Scholar is to continue to engage my students in inquiry-based learning for science. I will be showcasing my project at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Conference in Houston in the spring of 2022 and I hope to continue to collaborate with the amazing scholars and mentors I have met through the process to deliver quality lessons to my students.”

Jaime also reflected on her experience as an SBAR Teacher:

“Participating in SBAR as an educator was a phenomenal experience. I learned so much about backward planning, environmental science, and engaging students in finding solutions to real-world problems. I value the friendships I made in the process and remain in touch with some of the wonderful people I had the opportunity to work with. Even though the AZ Science standards have changed since I worked with SBAR, I have still found ways to incorporate many of the lessons I taught and applied them to the concepts students are now learning about.”

Congratulations to Jaime for her phenomenal achievement! We are proud of her accomplishments and wish her the best in her Scholar Year as Arizona’s first National STEM Scholar.