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Governor Hoeven gives NDEA TOY Traveling Trophy to Eldredge-Sandbo.

Eldredge-Sandbo receives a "Star" quilt from NDEA At-Large Minority Board Member Bill Azure.

Eldredge-Sandbo Named 2010 Teacher of Year

Mary Eldredge-Sandbo, a high school biology teacher at DesLacs-Burlington, was named the 2010 North Dakota Teacher of the Year during the NDEA Instructional Conference General Session Oct. 22, 2009 at the Grand Forks Alerus Center.

After graduating from college with a degree in biology, Eldredge-Sandbo wasn't quite ready to get a ‘real' job.  Instead, she went back to school to get her teaching degree and encountered professors who presented teaching as a noble and exciting profession.   "That year of education classes and student teaching served me well," she said.  "By the time I was through, I was eager to start my career."

After twenty-six years of teaching, Eldredge-Sandbo continues to love her career choice.   "It is truly a joy to work with students as I strive to encourage inquiry and foster an appreciation for the complexity of life," she said.  "When I hear a former student has decided on a career in which they use biology, I hope something they learned in my class helped them make the decision to continue learning more about DNA or cells or the workings of the body or interactions in the environment.  And, when I hear from a graduate who has something positive to say about his or her time in my class or a question about a career choice, I consider it the greatest compliment of all."

Eldredge-Sandbo has a master's degree in science education and has obtained National Board Certification.  Most recently she has been involved with technology integration in her school and has helped write several grants that have provided equipment and professional development.

"This has presented many opportunities for our entire district to work together as we integrate technology into our curriculum," she said.  "Not only is there collaboration among the faculty, but also with students as we all learn new ways to explore our world, share what we are learning and make new connections as we become more adept at using technology to make learning more meaningful."

"All of these experiences have taught me what I didn't know when I started teaching," she said, "that education isn't nearly as much about telling students what we know as it is about learning, sharing, growing and then sharing some more."

"I hope the contributions I make to education, small as they may be, are significant enough to help a student know that he or she is important beyond words and capable of doing marvelous things in an amazing world that holds endless possibilities," she said.