Westlake Schools Math Teacher Wins National Award

WESTLAKE, OH - Westlake High School and Lee Burneson Middle School teacher Anne Dill has been selected as the recipient of the 2016 Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished Mathematics Teaching in Middle and High School. Dill focuses on gifted students.

Dill is one of 34 teachers nationwide that received the award. According to the awards web page, teachers who have done outstanding work in motivating students in mathematics through participation in one of the MAA American Mathematics Competition (AMC) are recognized with the award.

“Your encouragement and commitment to your students had made a noticeable difference in your students’ problem-solving abilities and love of mathematics,” the committee wrote in a letter to Dill.

A letter writing campaign, from Dill's students and colleagues, helped secure the award for her. Each letter details Dill's willingness to go above and beyond for her students and her tireless work on their behalf.

“I feel honored, yet humbled, to receive the 2016 Edyth May Sliffe Award for Westlake High School,” Dill said in an emailed statement, adding her appreciation to Gifted Coordinator Carol Froehlich, WHS Principal Tim Freeman, LBMS Principal Paul Wilson and Dover Intermediate School Principal Alex Fleming for helping her find empty classrooms for practices and contests, and finding funding for local, state and national competitions for students. “The kids have grown in their math skills as they have grown into teenagers.”

The award was created in honor of Edyth May Sliffe, herself a high school mathematics teacher. Sliff taught in California and said that while her students won various awards for their performance, she felt the teachers supporting them rarely got the recognition they deserved. So she helped create the award.

Photo from Westlake Schools