Erin Wyatt
North Harford Middle School in Pylesville, Maryland, eighth-grade science teacher Erin Wyatt helps a group of female students run the school store. The girls are part of Wyatt’s mentoring program, one she created based on a similar effort at her church to provide young women with strong role models. Members of the “Girls Club” are thriving, with higher grades, better attendance and fewer behavior referrals.
The chair of North Harford’s science department, Wyatt is known as an innovative and exceptional educator who meets all students at their level of readiness and accepts them for who they are. She works with students at every academic level, from those identified as gifted to students with IEPs. North Harford ranks fourth or fifth overall among the district’s middle schools, but its eighth-grade science scores land first or second. Wyatt’s students regularly surpass 80% on high-stakes testing. An African American teacher in a district with limited ethnic diversity, Wyatt serves as a powerful role model for female, minority, and STEM-focused students. Her pupils have earned first place in the school’s science fair, and Wyatt often arranges field trips to meet with scientists working in a variety of STEM fields.
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