National Science Foundation Honors GTP Teacher as One of Nation’s Best

The National Science Foundation has announced that Dane Peagler, a Mississippi educator who has been a Supervising Instructor with the Global Teaching Project since its inception, has been honored with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

The PAEMST program, administered by NSF on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, recognizes outstanding teachers for their contributions to the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  This major honor is conferred on just two teachers from each state for each year—one in math and one in science.

Mr. Peagler, a native of Star, Mississippi, earned two Bachelor’s degrees from Mississippi State University—in Physics and Secondary Education—and went on to earn a Master’s degree in Physics from East Texas A&M.  He also has earned National Board Certification in Adolescence and Young Adulthood Science.

In his career in Mississippi public schools, Mr. Peagler has taught AP Physics, AP Computer Science, and AP Statistics, with his students regularly earning a vastly disproportionate share of top AP scores in the state.

Mr. Peagler has been an integral part of GTP’s Advanced STEM Access Program—which provides students from rural, high-poverty Mississippi communities access to advanced science courses—since the program began instruction in June 2017.  Since then, he has been responsible for implementation of GTP’s STEM courses in multiple subject areas, providing lesson plans, teacher guidance, and instructional support for GTP partner schools.

Mr. Peagler also conducts professional development programs for classroom teachers who lead GTP classes, and he has taught students at every GTP residential instructional program over the last 8 years, including the annual Advanced STEM Summer Preparatory Program at Mississippi State, the annual January MLK instructional program at Jackson State, and Spring instructional programs at the University of Mississippi and Delta State University.

“I am from a small school in a rural, low-income community that was unable to offer advanced science courses, so I know firsthand the value of GTP’s work”, Mr. Peagler said.

“Mississippi really is an amazing place filled with amazing people. Our students are capable of so much more than they think, and I’ve made it my goal to help them discover that.”

“My role with GTP allows me to work throughout the year with teachers and students from around the state.  At our residential programs, I get to work directly with students with so many different personalities and backgrounds.  What always amazes me is the hunger for knowledge that is the same across all of these different groups.”

GTP CEO Matt Dolan said, “The fact that GTP is able to attract elite educators like Dane Peagler—who have many, many options—validates the importance of our mission.  The fact that Dane and every Supervising Instructor GTP has ever hired is still with the program is testament that they recognize the positive impact we are having.”

Mr. Peagler has earned this prestigious honor, and GTP is extremely fortunate to have him and so many other gifted educators as part of our program.