Mary Glodowski, a biology and biotechnology teacher at Juanita High School, was honored last month at the White House with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for 2007.

Glodowski, the Washington state honoree for science teaching, was one of 98 secondary math and science teachers from across the nation to win the award.

The citation from the president notes that winners are commended for “embodying excellence in teaching, for devotion to the learning needs of the students, and for upholding the high standards that exemplify American education at its finest.”

The award included a $10,000 educational grant and the all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to accept the honor. In addition to the White House visit and an awards ceremony, she spent a day with scientists and science educators at the National Science Foundation; took a group photo with Vice President Dick Cheney; met with members of Congress; and attended a reception and dinner at the U.S. Department of State.

Glodowski, a teacher at Juanita High School for 11 years, received the award primarily for a biotechnology course she developed that has received national recognition. The course focuses on making science relevant and showing students how to use it in their future careers.

Glodowski holds National Board Certification and has won multiple teaching awards, including the national Association of Biology Teachers’ Biotechnology Teaching Award and Outstanding Biology Teacher Award.

Juanita High School Principal Gary Moed called Glodowski “a superb teacher,” saying her biotechnology program engages students both personally and intellectually.

“When they are adults, Mary’s students will look back on their lives and realize how fortunate they were to have been in her classroom,” Moed said.