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U.S. Education Secretary visits Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy
July 27, 2007
Secretary Spellings, Phil Mickelson lead town hall discussion with teachers on improving math and science education.
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings recently visited the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy for a unique town hall meeting.
Spellings — along with academy namesake and PGA Tour professional Phil Mickelson and his wife Amy — discussed ways to improve science, technology engineering and math education in the United States and took questions from the audience of 200 teachers in attendance at the third session of the annual academy, held in Fairfax at the ExxonMobil Downstream Headquarters building.
Also on the panel were Dr. Gerry Wheeler, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), Sherry Beard, president of Math Solutions and Mark Boudreaux, manager of Corporate Citizenship and Community Investments for ExxonMobil. NSTA and Math Solutions are partners with ExxonMobil and the Mickelsons in the academies, now totaling three across the U.S. this year.
"Secretary Spellings has shown a strong interest in the training that takes place at the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy," says Boudreaux. "Her visit offered a unique opportunity for real dialog with teachers in math and science classrooms from across the country about ways we can work together to increase student interest and performance in these critical disciplines."
"Our goal — and it's one we share with the Mickelsons along with NTSA and Math Solutions — is to build the pool of talented professionals in science, math, technology and engineering. It's important to the future of ExxonMobil and to overall U.S. competitiveness."
The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy brings together third- through fifth-grade teachers for week-long sessions that offer innovative methods for teaching science and math. From egg drops to pendulums, teachers learn new ways to excite and inspire their students with the knowledge and skills necessary to motivate students to pursue careers in science and math.
In addition to the Fairfax session, the Mickelsons and ExxonMobil sponsored similar academies in Houston and Baton Rouge, La.
