K-12 Recognition Program

SIGMAA Sports members may nominate K-12 educators who have made outstanding contributions related to mathematics and sports to receive recognition from the SIGMAA Sports. Some examples of roles of the nominated K-12 educators can include, but are not limited to the following: elementary school teacher, mathematics teacher / specialist, science teacher / specialist, physical education teacher, and sports coach / instructor. Some examples of outstanding contributions can include, but are not limited to the following: designing innovative mathematical curricula in the context of sports, or connecting mathematics with physical education / sports, and implementing math & sports related curricula with K-12 students (in-school or after-school settings). Special consideration will be given to those supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. Nominations due July 1 .

Zachary Schwartz

2022 K-12 Education

Recognition Winner

The 2022 recipient of the K-12 Education Award is Zachary Schwartz.

We are delighted to name Zachary Schwartz, a mathematics teacher in the Boston Public Schools, as the MAA Sports SIGMAA K-12 educator award winner. Zachary is a mathematics teacher at Jeremiah Burke Academy, a public high school serving a diverse and largely low income population of students in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. (The school’s website is at https://www.jebhs.org/ ). In the fall of 2019 he agreed to serve as an advisor to a Sports Analytics club at the school. Working with sophomores with limited technology experience, Zachary soon had the students creating convincing arguments with both numerical and graphical components. He went above and beyond the call of duty, working evenings and weekends. For a young teacher to move so comfortably between school and professional environments is a rare and valuable skill.

While Zachary's work with the 2019-20 sports analytics project was impressive, Zachary really outdid himself during the 2020-21 school year. The Boston schools were on remote learning, but we went ahead with another project, this time promoting former Northeastern University and Boston Celtic star, the late Reggie Lewis, for the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Watching Zachary run a Zoom meeting with several students on the line was a treat. He found tasks for them to do that were a beautiful balance between challenging and accessible. Working with professionals from the Boston Celtics, he again bridged the gap between industry analysts and high school students. The National SACP leadership has called on Zachary several times as a role model, and he has been asked to help other high school teachers around the country who are starting programs at their own schools.

For all of these reasons, and more, we are happy to name Zachary Schwartz as our 2022 award winner.

Zachary Schwartz -- 2022 Award Winner

Josh Tabor -- 2021 Award Winner

2021 K-12 Educator Recognition Winner

Josh Tabor

Josh Tabor teaches on-level and AP Statistics to high school students. He currently teaches at his alma mater Canyon del Oro High School in Oro Valley, Arizona. Josh co-authored " "Statistical Reasoning in Sports," which analyzes questions like: did Cam Newton choke in the Super Bowl, can a swimsuit make you faster, and who should I draft for my fantasy baseball team. The book enables high school students to explore statistical ideas via simulations, data analysis, and randomization processes. These methods develop statistical understanding. It is important to put Josh's larger work in statistics into context to see the wealth of knowledge he brings to the textbook. In recognition of his outstanding work as an educator, Josh was named one of the five finalists for Arizona Teacher of the Year in 2011. He is a past member of the AP Statistics Development Committee (2005–2009) and has been a Reader, Table Leader, and Question Leader at the AP Statistics Reading since 1999. In 2013, Josh was named to the SAT Mathematics Development Committee. Each year, Josh leads one-week AP Summer Institutes and College Board workshops around the world and frequently speaks at local, national, and international conferences. In addition to teaching and speaking, Josh has published articles in The American Statistician, The Mathematics Teacher, STATS Magazine, and The Journal of Statistics Education. He is the coauthor with Daren Starnes of two other popular statistics textbooks, The Practice of Statistics for the AP Exam and Statistics and Probability with Applications.

2020 K-12 Educator Recognition Winner

Cherie Farrington

Katherine “Cherie” Farrington is certified by the Professional Skaters Association as a Master Program Director, Master Group Instructor, Certified Moves Instructor, and Registered Choreographer. She is also certified by USA Gymnastics as a Certified Developmental Teacher. Further, Farrington has served as a curriculum developer, pilot program director, and workshop presenter for SportsScience Fun, LLC helping coaches and teachers link STEM education concepts to sports participation for K-5 students. She also led ice arena programs, including managing some of the nation’s largest Learn-to Skate USA programs, creating and choreographing more than 15 original performances and leading sales strategies and customer relations. Of particular note is Farrington’s collaborative work in assembling a workshop at Bridges Math and Art annual international conference in 2012, attended by many in-service mathematics teachers and mathematicians. There, Farrington and her collaborators discussed the kinds of edges and turns in skating step sequences, angles formed by skaters’ bodies, and momentum in skating. Farrington’s work is clearly well-aligned with the recognition’s goal to honor those who have made outstanding contributions.

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