Uppercase: Showcasing our Nation’s Best Teachers

We chat with some of our nation's very best teachers to hear what they’re most passionate about. Gain insights, hear anecdotes, and learn alongside expert teachers. Hosted by Beth Schmidt, founder of Uppercase, an app for teachers to get answers from experts.

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Episodes

Kristen Poindexter

Kristen Poindexter has been a Kindergarten teacher in MSD Washington Township for 23 years and is currently teaching at Allisonville Elementary School. Kristen is the recipient of several national awards, including being named the 2014 National Shell Science Teacher Award Recipient, a 2014 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching Award Recipient, and a 2018 Robert E. Yager Excellence in Science Teaching Award Recipient, and in 2023 was named a Ball State University Outstand...

Jun 04, 2024•58 min

Deanne Moyle-Hicks

Deanne Moyle-Hicks , the 2022 Nevada Teacher of the Year is a 30-year veteran with a National Board Certification. Deanne graduated from Eureka High, a rural school in central Nevada and earned a teaching degree from the University Nevada Las Vegas. She holds a master’s degree from Lesley University. Deanne has taught grades K-6 and was a literacy coach for 5 years, all in Title I schools in Elko and Washoe County Nevada. The last 5 years of her teaching career were spent on the Pyramid Lake Pai...

May 07, 2024•56 min

Marta García

Marta García is an elementary school ELD teacher to multilingual sudents in Salem, Massachusetts. She came with the program "Visiting Teachers from Spain" and she has worked in Salem for 17 years as a teacher and advocate for the immigrant and multilingual community, and before that in California and Spain. She was awarded as the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year in 2022, a platform she has been using to "amplify students' voices and the voices of the immigrant/bilingual families, who care deepl...

Mar 14, 2024•59 min

Sergio de Alba

For 23 years, Sergio de Alba, a fourth-grade teacher at R. M. Miano Elementary in Los Banos, CA, has focused on establishing a system geared toward developing achievement for our most marginalized students. He is known for his ability to create innovative lessons that allow for success. Sergio was selected as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow in Washington, D.C., a Fulbright Fellow in Colombia, a KKC Fellow in Japan, a Fund for Teachers Fellowship in Australia, and a Grosvenor Tea...

Feb 06, 2024•58 min

Dr. Gina Pepin

Dr. Gina Pepin holds an Ed.D. in Teacher Leadership and a MS in Reading & Literacy K-6. She is the 2023-2024 and 2018-2019 Region 1 Teacher of the Year for Michigan. Dr. Pepin teaches in a rural elementary school as a reading intervention teacher. She is involved in leadership, scholarship, and speaking opportunities across the country: family literacy workshops ( Great Start Family Collaborative ), K-12 mentoring & university supervision (teacher candidates), online assistant professor ...

Jan 30, 2024•53 min

Dr. Caryn Long

Caryn Long is a veteran educator of 35 years with experience across all levels from K-College. Caryn’s passion is in Elementary STEM-based teaching. She is a Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching recipient for the state of North Carolina and a recent inductee to the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Caryn is also an Albert Einstein Distinguished Teacher Fellowship awardee, placed at NASA Headquarters to develop education programs for Title I schools. Through that experienc...

Jan 23, 2024•42 min

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