Awarding Excellence

After 28 years in the classroom, it would be safe to say that teaching has helped put a roof over Jacqueline Sheffield’s head—not just metaphorically.

Earlier this year, the 51-year-old math teacher at Fort Walton Beach High School was named a recipient of the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

The award, established in 1983, is the pinnacle of recognition that a K-12 teacher can receive from the U.S. Government. Before leaving office, President Biden announced 336 recipients. If the prestige and accolades weren’t enough, the award also comes with a check for $10,000.

What did Sheffield do with the money?

“I bought a new roof,” she says, laughing. “And I’m tickled pink about it.”

Mathematics and teaching have been constants in Sheffield’s life. This fall will be her twenty-ninth year in the classroom. Sheffield attended FWBHS (Fort Walton Beach High School) and went on to the University of Florida. After graduating, she returned to the Okaloosa County School District, where she started teaching math to middle school students. After four years there, she secured a position at FWBHS, where she has taught every level of math available at the school. Currently, she teaches Algebra 2 Honors and Advanced Placement Statistics, working with students she calls her “highflyers.”

Looking back, Sheffield always knew she wanted to be a teacher. As the youngest in her family with five older brothers, she remembers trips to the grocery when she was young. Sheffield says, “My brothers would go to the cereal aisle and look for the best toy in the cereal boxes while I would always go to the school supply aisle.”

She was always pretty good with math, winning math wars competitions in elementary school, but she credits having older brothers as being behind the push that made her even better.

“They made me a little scrappy, which is good for being a high school teacher,” Sheffield says, explaining that with five brothers and two sons of her own, she can easily handle the demands of her classroom.

Sheffield credits her brothers, Tim and Joe, both older, who would help her with homework, while bonding over David Letterman on “The Late Show.” Joe tutored her in Algebra I, where she went from struggling to becoming the “most improved” in her class. Their positive influence nurtured a love for education.

Learning from her brothers helped her understand different modalities of pedagogy and that sometimes students “need to see it in a different way.” Thanks to these experiences, Sheffield can help her own students in need of her versatile teaching methods in the classroom.

Over the 28 years as a teacher, Sheffield says she is always evolving, or in her words, “I reflect more. I analyze every test. I am kind of in that cycle of teaching, assessing, reflecting, and then going back and doing it again.”

Photo by FYImages

Working with her “highflyers” also challenges Sheffield as a teacher. “I will tell you, when you are working with these really bright kids, you better be on your A game.” She recalls when she first started teaching statistics, she had a student named Esther who ended up as the class valedictorian. She would have to spend extra hours doing a deep dive into what she was teaching just to be ready for class.

“I had to be prepared,” she says. “I always knew Esther was going to ask me the why.”

With new technological tools capable of answering most questions, getting students to appreciate the need to learn critical thinking has become challenging, but these are the skills that set students apart in industry. Students who can incorporate generative AI with other durable skills will have advantages regardless of the field they enter after graduation.

“Math doesn’t just teach two plus two is four. Math is about critical thinking and problem-solving skills,” Sheffield says and that students need, “… to be able to break down complex problems and come up with solutions. They have to be able to take a challenge, break it down into pieces, solve the parts, and put those parts back together for a solution.”

A crucial skill for students is the ability to assess the veracity of information found from a generative AI tool. Sheffield believes that sourcing the information is important, and she wants to be able to verify search results.

Administrators at her school are quick to compliment Sheffield and her work ethic. Her principal, Lindsey Smith, says the award is a testament to the high standards she sets in her classroom and the meaningful impact she has on her students’ lives.

“We are so proud of her and grateful for the dedication she brings to our school every day,” Smith says.

Okaloosa County Schools Superintendent Marcus Chambers calls Sheffield “truly inspiring.” He says the award reflects her unwavering dedication to academic excellence and her ability to inspire a love of learning in her students.

Besides the recognition from the award and the stipend, winners are typically invited to the White House to be recognized, which Sheffield is looking forward to.

“I love my job,” Sheffield says. “I love my students, I love where I work, and I love who I work with. I’m very lucky that this is my job that I get up and go to every day.”

Sheffield feels she has at least eight more years left in her as a classroom teacher before retiring.

With a new 20-year roof over her head, Sheffield has a constant reminder that her work has value, or in her words, “It’s a roof that math built.”