Meet the 2016 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ – Laura Wright

Posted by in Iditarod, News
Date: April 23, 2015 7:35 am

screen-shot-2015-03-02-at-6-44-52-amLaura Wright, Austin Texas has been selected as the 2016 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™.

Laura is a third grade teacher at Eanes Elementary School.  Laura incorporates Iditarod themed lessons into all areas of her curriculum including math, art, and science, with a strong technology piece that allows students to share their learning.

Laura was among a group of 6 who attended the 2014Winter Conference.

Reflecting back on her 20 years as a public school teacher, Laura remembers leaving the University of Texas, eager to change the world and inspire students to care passionately about the world they lived in. Realizing her goals were high, it has been her passion. She began her career working with special education students in a school where she did not have access to textbooks or even a chalkboard. Teaching in such a difficult situation, and with limited resources, she shared her  own passions with her students; a love of nature by visiting nearby caves or performing plays and reading adapted classic literature such as “The Three Musketeers.”   She soon realized that every student in every classroom had the same desire; to be inspired about what they are being asked to learn. During her last year at Campbell Elementary School, she was awarded a $20,000 grant to develop a space called “Kid City” working with the University of Texas School of Design. Real world buildings resembling a city were built to encourage real world math skills in a simulated city environment.

At her current school, Eanes Elementary, Laura embraced Project Based Learning and was asked to pilot 1:1 technology for all the EISD elementary schools.  She has  presented locally and nationally at teacher conferences, sharing the tools and ideas she has learned to be successful in the classroom, and I has published an iBook in the iTunes bookstore that has been downloaded thousands of times around the globe. What inspires her now is finding ways to give her students opportunities to share their work and passion with others nationally and globally.

screen-shot-2015-03-08-at-3-59-21-amLaura believes in the power of volunteering.  For the past 25 years, Laura has been a passionate volunteer in the Austin community. She truly believes that her students see her as a role model and being a community volunteer has been a highlight of her life in many ways. It is important to Laura that all of her students understand that even a child can make a difference, no matter how small in their city, town or state. Laura’s students can expect to donate cat and dog food for the local animal shelter at our annual holiday party, or raise money for bat conservation in science. It is an expected and important part of her teaching.
 
During her college years, she answered phones at Seton hospital.  Later she joined the Junior League of Austin where she spent many years learning skills such as technology and design that helped fundraising efforts. She was the ACA Decorations Chair for 3 years for the “A Christmas Affair” event that raised nearly a million dollars for the needy in her community. She had a $200,000  budget and organized over 500 volunteers for the events.
 
Currently, she is a member of the Women’s Symphony League, which raises money to bring the arts and music into impoverished areas around Austin.  She was a member of the WSL committee which held its annual fundraiser this past October. Her volunteer experiences have included Habitat for Humanity, the Austin Pets Alive shelter, and Mobile Loaves and Fishes.
 
As an educator, she is involved in many district committees which allow her to share and collaborate with others in many ways. along with being  a member of  the campus leadership team, she has served as team leader.  She has been involved with and provided district wide training to all teachers after school for technology integration. She  has spoken at the NCSM and ISTE national conferences representing her school district, and is a featured speaker at iPadpalooza, their district’s  internationally recognized 3-day forum for sharing technology ideas and integration to administrators and educators from as far away as Australia. As a featured speaker at this event, she was thrilled to share technology integration with the Iditarod experience to many teachers at the conference.
 
Read the Press Release announcing Laura Wright as the 2016 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™.