Jennifer Lockwood of Springdale Park awarded Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education

Jennifer Lockwood, a fourth grade teacher at Springdale Park Elementary School, has been named an Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education (AFAEE) winner for the 2013 school year. Ms. Lockwood will use the award to fund her Full STEAM Ahead with Learning project.  Lockwood is one of 10 APS educators awarded $7,500 for innovative classroom projects, professional development and a personal stipend.

“I’m so excited and honored to be part of Atlanta Families group of teachers,” Lockwood said. “My students will get an opportunity to use STEAM throughout the day and work on wonderful projects to show their understanding of Common Core.”

Full STEAM Ahead with Learning will engage students in hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) lessons to extend their understandings of concepts in these fields.  Students will participate in weekly STEAM lessons that are integrated with the Common Core and Georgia Performance Standards. In addition, students will collaborate with professionals in STEAM fields to gain more knowledge about how concepts are used in real-life situations. Fourth graders will communicate about STEAM concepts with their peers and community through a class blog and online experiences and at the end of the year, the students will use the information they have gained to complete a STEAM Showcase project that they will share with their peers, community members and other stakeholders.

“We had a lot of great candidates this year,” said Stephanie Frederick from AFAEE. “We’re very happy to be here and serve our community and give back.”

“I’d like to thank Atlanta Families for this award, and my fabulous fourth graders and parents for their support, and the SPARK community,” said Lockwood.

Jennifer Lockwood has 9 years of teaching experience with 1st through 4th grades. She earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Education in Early Childhood Education from the University of West Georgia. She graduated with her Educational Specialist degree from Georgia State University in August 2011. Lockwood believes in being a lifelong learner. She has also taken courses to earn endorsements for Gifted Education, Mathematics, Reading, Teacher Leadership, and Teacher Support Specialist. Lockwood has been with Atlanta Public Schools for 7 years and taught in Douglas County for 2 years. In addition to being a classroom teacher, Lockwood has served as a mathematics instructional coach and interim challenge teacher.

She has served on numerous committees, such as Design Team, One Academic Fair, and many others. She chaired the Math Task Force and served as the Georgia Performance Standards facilitator. Lockwood has presented professional development sessions to schools and at the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics conferences. She has earned grants from various entities to fund projects to enhance student instruction. In 2012, Lockwood was selected to participate in the Mickelson Exxon Mobil Teachers Academy.