Kelly Crowley, a third grade teacher at Pine Valley Elementary School, was recently named the 2015 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Educator of the Year by Corning and Wilmington Business Development. This award recognizes Crowley’s “innovation and success in bringing STEM to her students,” according to a news release.
 
Crowley’s teaching approach integrates STEM into a wide range of hands-on projects that tie to real world issues, nurturing a desire in her students to learn more about STEM, the release stated.
 
Crowley graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2001 with a degree in elementary education and sociology. She has taught at Pine Valley Elementary School since 2004 and in 2013 earned her Master’s in Curriculum, Instruction and Supervision from University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2013.
 
The award, which recognizes one STEM educator each year, was created in 2013 through a partnership of the Wilmington Corning plant and Wilmington Business Development.