Caldwell County chemistry teacher wins prestigious grant

CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — A Calwell County teacher has been awarded the American Chemical Society Hach Grant for Professional Development.

The prestigious grant will enable Lauren Smith, the Honors Chemistry teacher at Caldwell Early College High School, to participate in the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education at the University of Kentucky this summer.

“This training will provide me with the invaluable tools and resources that I look forward to sharing with my colleagues in the school district through ongoing professional development,” Smith said.

The $2,500 grant will also be used to support the enhancement of Smith’s chemistry classroom by purchasing new teaching materials, resources, and software.

Smith has also been selected as a recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Promoting Innovation in Science and Mathematics grant. The $4,500 grant will be allocated, with $2,000 earmarked for further professional development and $2,500 dedicated to enhancing her classroom’s chemistry lab.

Smith’s winning grant proposal includes integrating fine arts into the chemistry curriculum.

“I plan to incorporate several new art projects that are chemistry-based, and ideally, we will have a chemistry art gallery at the end of the school year when students will reflect upon their knowledge and understanding of the content as well as how that allows them to express themselves creatively,” Smith explained.

Smith said she has taught chemistry for 10 years and is committed to innovative teaching methods.

A resident of Lenoir since 2008, she taught previously at Challenger Early College High School in Hickory for 12 years and has been involved in New Schools Projects and Cooperative Innovative High Schools as a site researcher for innovative designs in inquiry-based learning in the science classroom.

She is an alumna of Appalachian State University and holds National Board Certification.

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