Park Slope Middle School Teacher Wins $20K From Nonprofit

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A local science teacher was one of two New York City educators to win $20,000 from a nonprofit organization this week.

Lynn Shon, who teaches science at M.S. 88 on Seventh Avenue, was given the Muller Award for Professional Influence in Education by the Math for America organization. Gary Rubinstein, a math teacher at Stuyvesant High School also won the award.

The nonprofit said that both teachers have led the way for impactful work in the teaching profession.

Shon has been teaching science for nine years at M.S. 88, but beyond her own classroom, she has helped to create a curriculum at six schools in Brooklyn focused on teaching kids about climate change.

The curriculum, called the Resilient Schools Consortium and backed by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, helps students connect and understand how climate change impacts their own backyards.

"It's a big honor [to win the award] because it's my privilege to be a part of a community that has made me stronger and given me the courage to do what I do," Shon said.

She's also a member of the city's Department of Education Science Leadership Team — and said she incorporates climate action into as much of her teaching as possible.

The Math for America award gives New York City public school teachers a $20,000 award, as well as $5,000 to Stuy and the National Wildlife Federation — the two places that nominated Rubinstein and Shon, respectively.

"These teachers perfectly represent [Math for America's] goals," said the non-profit's president John Ewing. "They are masters of both their subject and their craft, and they use that mastery to influence the teaching profession in profound ways."

The non-profit also announced two runner-ups for the award: math teacher Kate Belin from Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School and chemistry teacher Michael Holmes from the High School of American Studies at Lehman College in the Bronx.

Read more about both of the teachers and the awards here.

Patch reporter Sydney Pereira reported on this story.