2023 STAT Statewide Award Recipients

 Amber Chalmers
Lancaster ISD

Creativity, compassion, and critical thinking are three of the values that Amber Chalmers instills in her students every day. Amber started her career in Lancaster ISD–the same district that she graduated from. She saw it as an opportunity to give back to the community that shaped her views, gave her experiences, and motivated her to do better and be better. Now in her 17th year, she teaches fifth-grade science at Houston Elementary School. She seeks to motivate students with her educational raps and creative lessons. Her main goal in the classroom is to teach students how to think beyond the curriculum and standardized tests so that they feel prepared to conquer life’s obstacles. Amber serves as a coach for the District History Bowl competition and volunteers wherever a need is present. Amber earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies (early childhood) from Prairie View A&M University and her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Selene Verhofstad, Ed.D.
Pasadena ISD

Selene Verhofstad, Ed.D., is a seasoned science educator, specializing in teaching chemistry to early college students at Dobie High School in Pasadena ISD. She earned her doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction (with a STEM emphasis) from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, where she also instructs an advanced science methods course. Additionally, Selene coordinates teacher mentors with instructional coaches across Pasadena ISD and Clear Creek ISD campuses, and teaches introductory chemistry at San Jacinto Community College. Throughout her career, Selene has been instrumental in equipping teachers with necessary resources and fostering their professional growth in science and technology. Among other accomplishments, she has teamed up with campus leaders to enhance Advanced Placement (AP) enrollment and has undertaken action research projects to optimize engineering science teaching techniques. These collaborative initiatives have seen her present at distinguished conferences, including the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST), presented by STAT.

Sandra Johnson, Ph.D.
Johnson Consulting Service

Sandra Johnson, Ph.D., has more than 40 years’ experience teaching at all levels from Pre-K through university. She is an educational consultant and former classroom teacher with 16 years of experience teaching grades K–5, as well as a gifted summer science program for grades 3–4 at Texas State University. Sandra was the first science consultant for Region XIII ESC, where she worked for 14 years, and she also taught elementary science methods at the University of Texas and early childhood education at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. As an educational consultant, Sandra has written and aligned eight curriculum guides for all grades for six environmental organizations, written articles and edited two books, and developed the first alignment to state standards for Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Project WILD and Aquatic WILD. Sandra has trained more than 2,500 teachers from every ESC region, and her Texas aquatic science curriculum for grades 6–12 sees more than 300,000 downloads annually.

Donald Burken
Spring Branch ISD