On January 21, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo welcomed New Lebanon Junior High School teacher Mary-Beth Liles to the Master Teacher Program.
Liles and 236 other outstanding teachers were recognized for their dedication to providing the most innovative Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education to their students, their commitment to professional growth and their enthusiasm for sharing their successful practices with colleagues in their schools and districts.
Liles, a National Board certified 7th and 8th grade Math teacher, has been a teacher for 20 years. Prior to her career in education she was an engineer for IBM. She shares her knowledge from the field in the classroom as well as by supervising the New Lebanon Future Cities team. The team recently won the regional competition for their sustainable city design and will go on to compete in the national competition in Washington D.C.
The Master Teacher program is a way for experienced STEM teachers to share their knowledge with new teachers. They also go through an extensive application and interview process. The process includes a content area test, written essays and a presentation.
“This is such a huge honor,” said Liles. “Now that I’m getting towards the end of my career, I have a lot of knowledge to share with math and science educators so they can find fun ways to teach our students.”
Master Teachers attend regular cohort meetings and participate in and lead professional development activities throughout the year. Each Master Teacher receives a $15,000 stipend per year over four years for participation in the program.
“Mrs. Liles is an integral component of a mathematics department that has been forced into adaptation and change as per recent Department of Education mandates. She has embraced the challenge of infusing the mathematical shifts and practices associated with the Common Core Learning Standards,” said New Lebanon Jr/Sr High School Principal Matthew Klafehn. “In the last two years, Mrs. Liles has worked tirelessly to create lessons that require students to apply mathematical concepts in real world situations and encourage students to speak and write about their understanding. I am very proud that she has been recognized as a participant in New York State’s Master Teacher Program.”
Liles is the second teacher from New Lebanon CSD to be named a Master Teacher. Dolores Storey was named a Master Teacher in May 2014. The two are planning STEM activities with students in younger grades to gear up excitement and interest in the subjects.
To learn more about the Master Teacher program, please visit http://www.suny.edu/masterteacher/.