2015 Bay Educator of the Year
Christine Bean
Teacher at Mount Hope High School
When it comes to Narragansett Bay, Ms. Bean always goes the extra mile for her students. She has been a participant in our Project Narragansett Teacher Academy and a collaborating teacher in our Narragansett Bay Field Studies program. Save The Bay’s Narragansett Bay Field studies program has been prioritized and a large requirement for her marine biology class for the past six years. She is independently integrating salt marsh cordgrass growing with her other younger environmental science groups. She enriches her students’ classroom experience by offering them hands-on, real life experiences in the field and on the Bay.
Christine’s 10th graders have tested water quality aboard Save The Bay’s education vessels, collected plankton and identified species under microscopes, and studied the behavior of harbor seals resting on rocks in the middle of Narragansett Bay. She also gets up at 5 a.m. to test water quality with Save Bristol Harbor all summer long and advocates for her students to participate. Two students who were in STB’s field studies program last year continued with water quality testing through the summer and are returning this summer to do it again after college! Bringing these valuable STEM learning opportunities to students takes a tremendous amount of extra time, work, energy, commitment and devotion. These are the kind of learning experiences that Ms. Bean brings to her students that allow students to feel inspired by their high school experience!
Ms. Bean is one of the most dedicated, thoughtful, and committed teachers with whom we work. She holds students accountable to curriculum standards and is extremely respected by her students. She stands out to us as a top notch professional and a huge asset to Mount Hope High School.