Colorado Teacher of the Year makes science popular

Justin Darnell’s passion for teaching can be seen on classroom walls adorned with student work and in the exuberance of students who list science as their favorite subject.

Friday, Gov. Bill Ritter named Darnell the 2010 Colorado Teacher of the Year — the first Denver recipient since 1982.

Darnell, 30, a science teacher at Bryant-Webster K-8 School, was chosen by a five-member committee. The award makes him the state’s nominee for National Teacher of the Year.

But Darnell’s success is best amplified in the praise from his students, who say he has motivated them into appreciating a subject that is sometimes an afterthought in K-12 education.

“Science is my favorite subject,” said Edison Leal, 13, who is in Darnell’s seventh-grade biology class. “He makes it more fun and interesting.”

Darnell chose to teach in Denver five years ago after earning his master’s degree in biology education from the University of Northern Colorado.

“I was looking around for jobs and looking in DPS and other districts where I could help out the kids who needed it the most,” he said.

At Bryant-Webster, 95 percent of students are eligible for federal meal benefits — an indication of poverty.

When he arrived, Darnell had students coming into his seventh- and eighth-grade classes woefully unprepared.

Darnell set up a science fair and was stunned by the low-level projects suggested by students.

“There was no scientific process,” he said. “They have progressed. Every single one of our students who wins our fair now places in the DPS fair and has a chance of winning.”

Test scores confirm Darnell’s work.

Fifty-two percent of Bryant-Webster eighth-graders were proficient in science on the 2009 Colorado Student Assessment Program — double the district’s 24 percent average and 2 points above the state average.

Darnell said he is bringing research-based tools to the classroom, and students are benefiting.

“My students are being educated in a manner that is equitable. They are getting the best education, research-based education.

“They are achieving at a level where we have almost closed the achievement gap in eighth-grade science.”

Darnell credits the collaborative culture among teachers at the school, the work of Principal Pam Linan and the high expectations that have been set for students.

“Any student can achieve if they are put in the right circumstances,” Darnell said. “You have to have that relationship-building piece.

“You have to have your students buy in. You do that by spending time with them and caring for them. If you don’t have that community and positive relationship, there is really no point.”