Five Idaho teachers win $5,000 each

Jennifer Swindell | 05/31/2013

Based on student nominations, five Idaho high school math and science teachers will receive
“Excellence in the Classroom” grants from a Bellevue, Wash., company.

The winners, who each received a $5,000 grant, are: Paula Uriarte, Capital High School, Boise; Greg Hoetker, Timberline High School, Boise; Barb James, Kuna High School, Kuna; Matt Elven, Grangeville High School, Grangeville; and Tate Castleton, Canyon Springs High School, Caldwell.

Smartsheet.com Inc., an online collaboration provider, awarded the $25,000 in grants.

High school students nominated a teacher they felt most deserved the recognition, and submitted their 100-word essays into a Smartsheet web form. Community judges then reviewed, sorted and ranked the students’ responses to select the winning teachers.

Jennifer Swindell

Managing editor and CEO Jennifer Swindell founded Idaho Education News in 2013. She has led the online news platform as it has grown in readership and engagement every year, reaching over two million pageviews a year. Jennifer has more than 35 years of experience in Idaho journalism. She also has served as a public information officer for Idaho schools and as a communication director at Boise State University. She can be reached at [email protected].