Cutchogue East Elementary School's STEAM Coordinator Honored

MATTITUCK, NY — A North Fork elementary school teacher has been honored for making great strides in science education.

Cutchogue East Elementary School STEAM coordinator and instructional coach Meghan Tepfenhardt has been recognized for her outstanding work as the recipient of the Science Teacher Association of New York State's 2023 Teacher of the Year award for elementary.

STANYS promotes excellence in science education and is New York's oldest and most respected professional organization of science educators, the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District said.

Each year, teachers and administrators are encouraged to nominate fellow teachers that truly inspire their students' love of science, the district added.

After an extensive application and review process, the top teachers from elementary, middle, and high schools are selected to be the Suffolk STANYS Teacher of the Year.

"Meghan’s work is embedded into the culture of Cutchogue East Elementary School and extends beyond STEAM and instructional technology," the district said.

As the Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics, or STEAM, coordinator, Tepfenhardt has extensive experience in the development of various programs and curriculum to meet the needs of the district’s increasingly diverse student population, district officials said.

"Her knowledge and ability to plan instruction for grades K to 6 while ensuring alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards ensures that the district has a robust STEAM Program," the district added. "Meghan developed comprehensive STEAM units of study for each grade level that guide the district’s students through achieving the district’s mission statement by creating a dynamic, flexible and engaging learning process where students' passion for learning is nurtured by collaboration, creativity and critical thinking."

Some of the assemblies she has developed and implemented include Playground Expo, which focused on the engineer design process and design; KindergartenRegatta, focused on using wind and weather to support sailboat creation and launching; Apple Toss, which was a building-wide assembly in physics; Sunglass Design Fashion Show, that focused on a deep study of UV rays and how humans can protect against UV rays; and the Cardboard Chair Design Challenge, where students designed cardboard chairs that were tested during a whole school assembly by the district’s Superintendent of Schools Shawn Petretti.

Tepfenhardt also managed many projects with community partners including the Peconic Estuary Program, Long Island Regional Planning Council, Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation and Brookhaven National Laboratories. Notably, she also participated in Brookhaven National Laboratory's Open Space Stewardship program to enhance the district’s environmental studies' curriculum writing in the classroom.

In addition to supporting teachers, as a coach for instructional technology throughout the pandemic, she continues to work with teachers to support their instructional technology needs.

"Tepfenhardt demonstrates the qualities of a true teacher-leader in the study of science and STEAM and has the ability to bring a vision to life to make science lessons truly memorable for all students," the district said.