Science teacher awarded grant for eighth year in a row
This year Upper School Science Department Chair and teacher, Sari Deitche, has been very busy applying for grants. In October she was awarded $10,000 through the Barrett Family Foundation’s Excellence in Science and Mathematics Upper School Award.
This month, and for the eighth year in a row, she has been awarded the Florida Association for Water Quality Control (FAWQC) E2 Grant which will fund water quality equipment for her classes. This is the 8th year that she has received funding from FAWQC .
“It is very humbling,” said Mrs. Deitche, who is in her 14th year as a science instructor at Farragut. “I am very appreciative of how Farragut has helped me grow as a teacher. Every department has given me the support to succeed. In addition, the students have helped me develop my teaching style.”
The E2 Grants are awarded based on the proposed project’s overall environmental value as to:
- Fostering awareness and understanding of a water related issue
- Being cost effective
- Basing the project on sound science principles
- Promoting involvement of students or citizens
- Promoting enhancement of a water resource or associated habitat.
Deitche was a marine scientist at Tampa Bay Watch for seven years before becoming a teacher. While at Farragut she has taught 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, as well as Upper School sciences that include Life, Earth and Marine sciences and Biology. She credits Farragut with allowing her to develop her teaching style based on her worldly experience.
“This is a place where they allow you to teach in a way that benefits both you as an instructor and the students,” Deitche said. “When I first arrived, I was in a former English classroom with no tables for lab instruction or wash sinks. The administration quickly resolved this and created a room for me that would allow me to give the students the best education possible. I wouldn’t be successful if it weren’t for the type of teamwork that exists here.”
Today, Deitche’s room includes six lab areas, two TVs, a LCD projector, and a magnetic white board that are all synchronized. In addition, there is an extension where her marine science tanks sit. A large reason for the improvements over the years has come from Deitche’s willingness to search out educational grants, a burdensome task within itself.
“Learning has to involve teaching both within and outside the classroom,” said Deitche, who is the teacher with the most FAWQC, with over $7,000 going to Farragut for science supplies over the past decade. “I am most proud of the successful students our department has helped produce.”
