Lori Mathys teaches fourth graders at Chesterfield Elementary School in the Rockwood School District in Chesterfield, Missouri. She previously taught fourth grade at California Elementary School in the town of California, Missouri, focusing on technology as a way to teach students to be collaborative and creative. She is a National Board Certified teacher and an eMINTS (Enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) instructor. Her inquiry-based, technology- focused instruction has helped her students score above average on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests in math, communication arts, and social studies every year. She has worked extensively at the state level on the MAP tests to provide feedback for item writing and scoring. Her first article, "Westward Ho," was published in the NCSS (National Council for Social Studies) bulletin. She has presented numerous workshops at the state level on utilizing hands-on science and technology use in the classroom. She was featured on a CNN back-to-school special showing how technology is successfully integrated in classrooms across the U.S. Five of her integrated technology lesson plans have been honored by successlink.org and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Missouri as being among the best teaching practices in the state. Lori was the Rockwood District Teacher of the Year for 2010-2011 and named a Missouri State Teacher of the Year finalist in 2010.
