Downers Grove North High School Science Teacher Jeff Grant has been selected as a Finalist in 2016 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching
North High Science Teacher Jeff Grant has been selected as a finalist in the 2016 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching, a leading nonprofit committed to celebrating and developing great teachers with the ability and passion to make life-changing differences in the lives of students. According to Golden Apple, the awards recognize and honor outstanding teachers for their role in building a stronger, better-educated society.
This year’s 30 finalists were selected from a pool of more than 400 nominations, and represent 9th-12th grade teachers throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.
“I am very honored to be considered part of this esteemed group, but I could never do what I do without the help of my science department and these great kids that I get to teach and interact with on a daily basis,” says Grant. “When I was a kid I knew that this community was an amazing place to grow up in, and it is incredibly rewarding to now know that I am viewed by others as positively giving back to that same community.”
“Jeff is constantly seeking ways to get students excited about science and to understand how science connects to their lives,” says North High Principal Scott Kasik. “Jeff’s passion and enthusiasm for teaching science is evident whenever you see him where he most loves to be--in the classroom working with students.”
Grant has taught at North High since 2003; he is also a member of the North High Class of 1998. Grant received a bachelor’s in secondary education from DePauw University and a master’s in the art of teaching from Aurora University. He is also a National Board Certified Teacher.
Grant started out in college as a pre-med student, having always had an affinity toward biology. He also was interested in limnology, the study of lake ecosystems, and worked for the Cook County Forest preserve. After volunteering for the Indianapolis Public Schools and working alongside science celebrity Bob Lewis (who has appeared numerous times on The David Letterman Show), however, he discovered that he loved inspiring kids to appreciate science. He switched majors, and started down the path to become a high school science teacher.
In 2003, Grant returned to his high school alma mater to teach. Grant says that students today are taking more science classes than ever before, noting that the Anatomy and Physiology course has become increasingly popular. He thinks that some of the interest is due to the sophisticated research they’re performing in class. He notes that many of the technologies used in class, such as DNA experiments, were only just receiving Nobel Prizes when he was in high school.
Grant also makes it a priority to bring in real-world scientists into the classroom. For example, he’s hosted a neuroscientist from Northwestern and a botanist from The Morton Arboretum to come and present to his classes.
“Bringing in outside people gives students a chance to see what a ‘real’ scientist looks like, and that it’s not a Frankenstein-type person with a lab coat and colored test tubes,” says Grant. “We live in such a science-rich area, with Argonne, Fermilab, Ivy-league quality universities and museums that we can take advantage of to benefit our students."
Grant hopes to continue to inspire students to be curious about and keep studying science, in particular females so that the field becomes more balanced in the future. (Grant is the father of two daughters.)
“Science is the underpinning of life, and it gives students a better appreciation for the world in general,” says Grant. “My goal is to build a ‘science army’ of adults who better understand science and how to use it to make the world a better place.”
2016 Golden Apple Award Finalists will experience a final round of review and classroom observations, and ten award recipients will be selected an announced later this spring. For more information, visit www.goldenapple.org.
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