Press Release

Steele Elementary School Teacher Selected As State Finalist For The Presidential Awards For Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

June 6, 2001

Steele Elementary School Teacher Ralph Sodano is one of two finalists from Colorado selected for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for the year 2001. With the state selection, Sodano automatically becomes a candidate for a national level Presidential Award.

If selected by a committee in Washington DC, Sodano would be notified by the White House and given a grant of $7,500 for Steele Elementary School programs dedicated to science. The committee plans to select two national awardees from each state (one teacher for elementary science teaching and one teacher for secondary science teaching).

All state level finalists receive a $750 grant funded by the National Science Foundation.

Sodano is widely known for the 14-foot planetarium dome he uses as a teaching tool for students at Steele and around the district. Students from across the city visit Steele to participate in such classes as "Reasons for the Seasons," "Dinosaurs and the Cosmic Connection," and "Moonlight and Lunar Madness."

"Science is something you participate in," Sodano says about his interactive teaching style. "Science equals play. I believe that aspect has to be there for learning to take place."

Sodano has been director of the planetarium for 13 years. His aim is to "provide a forum for kids where they can see the process of science and take with them the process of scientific discovery."

For more information call 303-744-1717. Steele Elementary School is located at 320 S. Marion St.