West Springfield Employee Named Biology Teacher of the Year

A teacher at West Springfield High School has been named the 2010 Virginia’s Outstanding Biology Teacher of the Year by the National Association of Biology Teachers.

Students enter Susan Kinsley’s classroom to the sound of popular music over the stereo. They can also stop to say hi to Elvis, a skeleton dressed in a Bruce Springsteen shirt. Kinsley enjoys using her teaching to create a community in her classroom.

“I use a lot of group activities – content related and not content related so they can build relationships not just with me but with each other,” Kinsley said. “I think that’s very important.”

Susan Kinsley is in her 24th year of teaching ninth grade Biology and elective course Physiology and Anatomy. At the beginning of her career, she actually wanted to become an athletic trainer, completing internships in sports medicine, but became drawn to her work teaching instead. Now, she attends workshops often to keep her teaching methods up to date.

“I think teaching is a career where there’s something different every day,” Kinsley said. “It’s always fresh.”

Kinsley’s relationship with her students continues after they’re out of her class. A student from 2001 recently stopped by to congratulate her on her award.

“Teaching Biology can add in a really strong community aspect,” Kinsley said. “It’s not just trees and birds outside in the community, it’s in here as well.”

Kinsley’s colleagues appreciate her work as well. “She knows her topic well and she is willing to share that knowledge,” Liz Miller, her teaching partner for ninth grade Biology, said. “One of the risks of being a team teacher is being viewed as equals in the class room. She’s willing to share.”

An administrator at West Springfield nominated her for the award last year, which is given out to educators in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, Puerto Rico and overseas territories. Kinsley will receive a microscope, a one-year membership from NABT, and will be honored during the NABT Professional Development Conference in Minneapolis in November.