By Elle Wood

HARRINGTON — Elementary school teachers provide knowledge to future leaders.

One of them is Lake Forest South second grade educator Brittney Campbell, whose career began about 11 years ago. She’s been teaching in the Lake district since 2021.

For her dedication, Ms. Campbell was recently nominated for a 2024 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the most prestigious honor a K-12 STEM educator can receive nationally.

The First State has three other nominees: Karen Eller from The Bancroft School in the Christina School District, Kerry Haley from Forwood Elementary School in the Brandywine district and Carlos Pesquera of H.O. Brittingham Elementary School in Cape Henlopen. Each state can nominate up to three math and three science honorees.

Winners will be announced later this year and will receive a trip to Washington, D.C., for a National Science Foundation conference, $10,000 and a certificate signed by President Joe Biden.

Ms. Campbell was nominated for math by a group of instructional coaches and specialists in her district, she said, sharing how her desire to teach grew during her own education.

“As a student, I really struggled with learning,” she added. “I had some amazing teachers throughout my education that really helped me get on grade level.

“They inspired me so much that I wanted to do the same for others.”

Even after a decade-plus, she still gets thrills watching children expand their knowledge.

“It is amazing to watch students grow, especially in math because I feel that is an area that people do not particularly enjoy,” said Ms. Campbell. “It’s great to just be able to watch my students enjoy math and be able to understand it.”

It’s her favorite part of schooling, she explained.

“Just watching a kid, you can see it in their eyes. They light up when they understand something or when they learn something new and how excited they are.”

Being nominated for the Presidential Award wasn’t expected, she added, but she is grateful for other teachers and faculty supporting her along the journey.

“I am extremely honored and humbled,” said Ms. Campbell. “I could not have been able to get to where I am in my career without the other educators around me.”

Her goal in teaching is to provide her students the most opportunities to learn, so they have space to make mistakes and learn from them.

“I think that all students deserve the best education possible, and students should come to school excited to learn and excited to try new things and be excited to not have things go well,” said Ms. Campbell.

“Especially in math, a lot of times it is trial and error and failing a couple times before you understand the concept.

“I think it is so important to not only give students the opportunities of tomorrow that they are able to obtain but also helping students become resilient and not be afraid to fail a couple times before learning something.”