Thanks to Anna Norviel, students at White Pine Elementary are steeped in STEM. Norviel teaches first grade and leads an after-school STEM club at the charter school in Ammon, Idaho. Her first graders learn about human anatomy by building models of the different body systems—respiratory, circulatory, muscular, etc.—in layers on life-sized, people-shaped cutouts. Norviel incorporates project-based learning and science into other content areas, helping the children churn butter while studying about colonial America. The STEM club, open to grades one through five, explores coding, works with drones, uses 3D printers and completes Engineering Design Challenges. In 2020, STEM club students submitted a drone video to Idaho’s National Laboratory Earth Day competition. Norviel makes sure her instructional time is engaging and challenging, balancing setting clear expectations with encouraging students to explore concepts and find their own way to solutions. Her approach delivers—during the 2021-22 school year, Norviel’s first graders averaged 127% growth in reading and 111% growth in math.
As coordinator for the school’s Core Knowledge curriculum, Norviel leads professional development and organizes Core Knowledge Night to showcase themed grade levels and classrooms, performances, training opportunities, and student projects and displays. Earlier in the pandemic, she created a virtual environment for this important annual event, allowing families to participate in the school community from their homes. Norviel leads White Pine Elementary’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) team, sits on the director of schools’ leadership team, works with students with learning disabilities and mentors new teachers.
Norviel holds high expectations for herself and others, looking for opportunities to promote systemic improvement and share best practices. She is known as a strong advocate for and positive influence on both students and colleagues. The relationships Norviel creates with children and families are powerful and lasting—it’s common to see former students in her classroom.
Norviel is a graduate of Brigham Young University-Idaho. She earned a bachelor’s in political science in 2012.
Press release: Idaho Teacher Receives National Milken Educator Award and $25,000 Cash Prize
"My students are always ready and excited to learn. You get..." (read more)
2012 B.A., Political Science, Brigham Young University - Idaho
