HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 97-4660 ~AWARDED

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 97-4660, by Representatives D. Schmidt, Thompson and Johnson

WHEREAS, It is the policy of the Washington State Legislature to honor excellence in every field of endeavor; and
WHEREAS, Fran O'Rourke, a teacher at Cedar Wood Elementary School in Bothell, Washington, has demonstrated exceptional skills in the classroom, and has therefore been awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching; and
WHEREAS, Fran O'Rourke's unique teaching style is replete with enriching opportunities for students, and includes hands-on learning activities, strong parental involvement, and interdisciplinary curricula design; and
WHEREAS, Fran O'Rourke and her students designed a driver's license for the Mars Rover Pathfinder mission, a copy of which is now on display at the Smithsonian Institute; and
WHEREAS, Fran O'Rourke has initiated or been involved with instructional technology projects such as simulated space shuttle launches, simulated journeys to the moon and Mars, a two-day wetlands curriculum, NASA's summer symposium in science curriculum, and a multitude of other creative learning opportunities for students; and
WHEREAS, Fran O'Rourke has exhibited boundless energy, unusual vision, and a commitment to her students that is worthy of emulation by teachers across the state;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor Fran O'Rourke; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to Fran O'Rourke and the Principal of Cedar Wood Elementary School.

I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of
Resolution 4660 adopted by the House of Representatives
April 21, 1997.


________________________________
Timothy A. Martin, Chief Clerk


Seattle Times
TEACHER WITH A MISSION SHE MAKES SCIENCE COME ALIVE
BY JOHN IWASAKI P-I Reporter
Thursday, June 5, 1997
Section: News, Page: B1

Fran O'Rourke had a ``cartoon image" of chemists when she was the age of the fourth- and fifth-graders she now teaches in a multi-age classroom at Cedar Wood Elementary School.
Making bubbly concoctions in a laboratory, exploring the chemical unknown - all that seemed wonderfully intriguing to her.

``But I was never encouraged growing up. Girls didn't go into science," the 44-year-old ((age)) O'Rourke said yesterday. ``I never thought I was smart enough. So my mission is to make little girls and little boys interested in science."
Next week, her classroom crusade will be recognized when she travels to the White House to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. It is the nation's highest honor for kindergarten through 12th-grade science and math teachers.
Two hundred and fourteen educators will each receive a citation and a $7,500 school grant, including three other Washington teachers: Alonda Drege of Steilacoom High School, Mary Dengerud-Au of Pasco High School and Joe Ann Riedesel of Columbia Heights Elementary in Longview. Educators are chosen based on teaching performance, experience and background.
O'Rourke is known at Cedar Wood for making innovative connections between science - particularly space exploration - and other subjects. Among other things, her classes have featured space shuttle simulations and a demonstration of a Mars land rover.

Years ago a wise colleague told O'Rourke, ``Teach what's fun for you. If you love it, they'll love it."
She heeded his advice. ``He gave me permission to go outside the books and make something come alive," O'Rourke said.
Her students see it.

``We don't just read out of a book," said Maggie Ryan, an 11-year-old fifth-grader. ``We actually see what it is we're studying. It's like hands-on experiments and it makes it fun."
O'Rourke notes that some research shows that a child's initial decision to like or dislike science is made by the fourth grade.

O'Rourke brings in instructional resources beyond the classroom. Her special interest in Mars dates back to 1995, when she was one of 10 teachers from Washington and Idaho who participated in a field trip for NASA scientists, engineers and educators at the Missoula Flood Plains near Moses Lake. The terrain there is believed to be similar to the surface of Mars.
Some students in her class took a field trip to Cape Canaveral, Fla., in December 1996 to view the launch of NASA's Mars Pathfinder.

On July 4, the spaceship is scheduled to drop a remote-controlled rover onto the Red Planet for exploration.
Brian Cooper, the NASA official who will ``drive" the rover from a lab in Pasadena, Calif., visited Cedar Wood at O'Rourke's invitation two years ago. He demonstrated a less-sophisticated model on a Mars-scape made by students.
A mock ``Mars Rover License" made by her class was presented to Cooper and hung for a time in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

O'Rourke's space exploration lessons have combined science with math (computing weights in Mars gravity, for instance), geography, topography, reading, writing and other subjects.
A 21-year teacher, she credits Cedar Wood Principal Jim McNally for the freedom to try new teaching approaches and her fellow staff members for participating in her demonstrations.

``The award shouldn't be just for me," O'Rourke said. ``It should be for the entire staff."
McNally said O'Rourke has ``boundless energy."
``She has the unique ability to make all the connections (between subjects)," he said.
Or, as 11-year-old Dustin Eney put it, ``She teaches us in a cool way."

In August, O'Rourke will begin a one-year leave to sail to Mexico, Hawaii and the South Pacific with her husband, Jim Hartman.

Even trip preparations have become lessons, with students studying about visas, international regulations, navigation and endangered species in the areas she will travel.
O'Rourke plans to stay in touch with her students via e-mail sent from the laptop computer she will receive for being named one of 570 ``Technology Mentor Teachers" by the Washington Education Association.

``My dream is to go to a little island in the South Pacific where kids have never seen a computer," she said, ``and get them online with Cedar Wood."
ip
This article contained at least one photo or illustration as described below:
Type: Color Photo
Description: ELLEN M. BANNER/P-I: Schoolteacher Fran O'Rourke will be at the White House next week to pick up her presidential award for math and science teaching.