Alexandria Math Teacher Aims To Open Doors To STEM Competitions, Scholarships

ALEXANDRIA, VA – An Alexandria math teacher has been selected for a national initiative that supports educators mentoring students as they conduct original scientific research and participate in science competitions like school and state science fairs or sponsored competitions.

Essie Jones, a math teacher at Alexandria City High School, was one of four Washington metro area teachers to be chosen for the Society for Science’s 2026–2027 Advocate Program, along with Kelley Gaske of King George High School in Virginia, Tara Walker of Chamberlain Middle School in Washington, D.C., and David White of Kingsview Middle School in Germantown, Maryland.

Each will receive a $3,000 stipend, part of the program’s $326,000 total investment, the Society for Science said in a release. This year’s nationwide cohort includes 13 Lead Advocates and 87 Advocates nationwide.

Emily Freeland, the manager of the Advocate Program, told Patch that teachers value the opportunity to connect with a network of teachers in science, technology, engineering, and math research.

“For many educators, they are the only teacher at their school or district who is supporting STEM research or science fairs, and connecting to a national network and meeting monthly with a cohort of educators who can help provide a support network is extremely valuable," she said. "The professional connections and the national network of educators that has been built over the last 12 years of this program continues to be its most valuable resources."

Students say the program helps them not only learn about math and science, but to “see themselves as a STEM person,” Freeland says, and gain confidence in presenting their research to judges and other STEM professionals.

Jones has her own goals for her year as an advocate: promote math, promote excitement about research and competition, and get her students some needed scholarship money.

“I teach a vast, diverse body of students, and some don’t have all have the funds for school," she told Patch. "That would be a really important thing for my students, to be able to get an opportunity to go to school – and also learn all the components of competition.”

She told Patch that math is often underrepresented at science fairs and STEM fairs, making it “a wide-open category and an opportunity for students to participate and win prizes and scholarship money.”

In particular, she’s hoping to support students in entering the science fairs necessary to qualify for the Regeneron Science Talent Search, which awards significant prize money for the best original student research.

That’s the practical component of her goals. “Because I teach a vast, diverse body of students, and some don’t have all have the funds for school, that would be a really important thing for my students to be able to get an opportunity to go to school – and also learn all the components of competition.”

Jones says she’s already seen what happens when students are just made aware of the possibilities in front of them. “Last, year, I just started talking to my classes, telling students about opportunities. I would just be like a speaker: ‘You can do this, and you can do that, and you can do that.’" Lo and behold, before long, a student came to her wanting to follow up on some possibilities.

The student gathered some classmates and with Jones they created a club to learn about competitions and science and math careers through guest speakers, field trips and more. “It’s like a doorway,” Jones said. “And I tell you, my whole class environment changed: students started participating in projects and getting involved. It was so awesome to see the difference in my students' attitude, their participation, their scores rising, just from participating in little bitty projects that I would have them do.”

That was the groundwork. This year, Jones is going to collaborate with the school’s math honor society, science department and STEM Academy to spread that enthusiasm across the school. Now, Jones will have the support of the Advocate program to help an even larger group of students find research and competition opportunities and then to mentor and liaise for them as they seek grants, access to university labs for research and other key assistance.

Since launching, the program has supported 439 educators and more than 9,100 students, who've submitted over 12,000 entries to STEM competitions.

Each year, the program gets 250 to 300 applications. This year, 100 were selected. Nine advocates from Virginia have been selected over the years.