Currently Stephanie LeGrone has stepped back into the classroom after several years to teach at her son's school! She is excited about the prospect of growing STEM programs at St. Mary Catholic School and help ignite a passion for STEM in a new group of students. After receiving the Milken Award, Stephanie helped to spearhead the career academy model in her school by becoming the Career Academy Specialist for MGM. She was instrumental in helping to shape programs like the Biomedical, Engineering, and Teaching & Learning Academy where students get a taste of what careers they might want to pursue after high school. She then moved into the position of K-12 Science Supervisor with Mobile County Public Schools where she was tasked with shaping the science and STEM curriculum for all 86 schools in the system. She was able to grow the number of PLTW schools from 2 to 21 during her time as Science Supervisor and able to ensure that nearly every single school had a robotic program. At the time of the award at Mary G. Montgomery (MGM) High School in Semmes, AL, chemistry students are kept entertained and educated in Stephanie LeGrone's multimedia classroom. She capitalizes on technology including Powerpoint presentations, online quizzes and computer-based test-item analysis for her digital-aged students. She creates podcasts for each class session, so that absent students can view missed lessons, or for students who want to review a lesson at home or in the library. LeGrone also uses a Website called TeacherTube to post all assignments and class notes online. Her emphasis on technology has been only one element in the spectrum of good she has brought to MGM High School. As chair of the science department, LeGrone implemented the school's adoption of an AP chemistry course. As part of this effort, she wrote pacing guides to ensure all chemistry teachers in the county have a uniform time frame to keep them on track to cover all necessary materials for the AP exam. She founded a partnership with the University of Southern Alabama, through which she collaborates with college professors to provide students with workshops and enhanced learning opportunities that are only available at the university level. Her students' excellent chemistry scores, which were 14 percent higher than the rest of the district, are a surefire sign of her effectiveness. Of the top ten scholars elected to the recent Mobile Region Chemistry Olympiad, five were her students. Not only is LeGrone an effective teacher, she is also a compassionate one. She raises money with fundraisers and corporate sponsors so that those students who are unable to afford the AP chemistry test fee can still take the exam.
1999 University of South Alabama, B.S. - Chemistry
