Hebron teacher selected to attend teaching academy

HEBRON — Lydia Eusden, a fifth-grade teacher at Hebron Station School has been selected to attend the Mickelson ExxonMobile Teacher's Academy at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ in July.

The academy, now in its seventh year, is sponsored by professional Golfer Phil Mickelson, ExxonMobile, the National Council of Teachers in Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).

Eusden is one of 200 third-, fourth- and fifth-grade teachers from across the country that will attend the week-long academy. Over 1,000 teachers apply to the program every year.

The academy is designed to introduce teachers to new, innovative and engaging teaching strategies for math and science.

Eusden says she feels honored that she was selected to attend, especially since she needed a recommendation letter from one of her former fifth graders.

Mickelson conceived of the academy as a way to enable teachers to give younger students a leg up in math and science, fields that may provide some of the most interesting and lucrative careers in the future.

Eusden, who graduated with an undergraduate degree in botany and plant physiology, says that science is an extremely important subject for her.

"It's very important for me that students be connected to their outside, outdoor environments," she says. "I think that's very integral to the culture of Maine and the culture of Oxford County."

Eusden is excited to travel to the academy, especially since, in recognition of the low salaries of many teachers, the experience is fully funded.

"It's very difficult for teachers to attend a teaching academy because they tend to be very expensive," Eusden says. "They wanted to make it affordable for teachers to be able to attend an academy."