The Presidential Award represents that teachers’ service to their communities has effects beyond the boundaries of their schools and districts. The award is recognition that each student in my classroom has the potential to affect the lives of individuals across the country. My instruction is helping my students reach their greatest potential, allowing them to be successful and contribute positively wherever they choose to live.

Christopher Havrilla Greenwood, DE | 7-12, Science, 2013

Chris Havrilla has taught science at Woodbridge High School in Bridgeville, Delaware, for the past eight years. He teaches 10th grade Biology and AP Psychology. Chris’s current classroom activities include teaching biology lessons that use frameworks of sustainability and other global issues as the overarching theme to pull content together. Additionally, he uses proficiency scales to better identify strengths and weaknesses of each student at the standard level, allowing for more personalized instruction. Chris enjoys teaching fellow teachers in his district and throughout Delaware. At the district level, he is a lead curriculum trainer who helps teachers implement new strategies and initiatives each year. At the state level, he has conducted trainings on implementing the state biology curriculum with new teachers. Additionally, he is involved in the development of the state test in biology, helping with tasks that range from item development to rubric validation. Chris is currently science department chair, a member of the Common Core guiding team, and a Delaware lead teacher for the next generation science standards. He has a B.S. in biology education from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He is certified in secondary science education.