This article is part of a series by The Vicksburg Post, in partnership with the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce, featuring each of the Educator of the Year nominees.

 

For more than a decade, Kimberlin Foster has brought the world of science to middle school students, and through her instruction, it has been her belief that “teachers plant the seed of knowledge that lasts a lifetime” that has shaped her curriculum.

“In my eyes, science is about creating, discovering and exploring our curiosity,” Foster said. “I believe in creating opportunities that allow students to experience success.”

Foster, an 8th-grade science teacher at Warren Central Junior High School, is a finalist for the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce’s Educator of the Year Award.

The Chamber will select and announce one elementary and one secondary teacher of the year Wednesday. The winner of each award will receive $1,000 from Ameristar Casino and the runner-up for each award will receive $500 from Mutual Credit Union.

The award was originally scheduled to be announced last week but was delayed a week due to last week’s severe winter weather.

Foster received her bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the University of Louisiana-Monroe in 2000 and a master’s in elementary education from Mississippi College in 2008.

She began her teaching career as a 6th-grade science teacher at Bolton Edwards Elementary Middle School before moving to Powell Middle School in Jackson in 2010, where she taught 8th-grade science. She joined the staff at Warren Central Junior High School in 2014.

For Foster, boiling down science to real-world scenarios and situations is crucial.

“Real-world problems are essential to engaging students since they tend to be meaningful and appropriate to students’ lives, either directly or indirectly,” she said. “In my classroom, the use of media or social networks has proven to be great tools for providing students with real-world connections.”

One way Foster uses real-world examples to improve understanding is in her lessons on earthquakes.

“When teaching about earthquakes, we can view data and images relating to the New Madrid fault in Mississippi and earthquake activity in Madison county,” she said.