Nate Raynor of Mescalero Apache School is the second New Mexico teacher to receive a grant to promote science learning.
Raynor and Sergio Torres of Native American Community Academy are among 52 teachers being recognized by Society for Science, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. The grants are awarded through the organization’s STEM Research Grants program, which, according to its website, encourages hands-on science learning in middle and high school classrooms.
Teaching was the last thing Raynor thought would become his career. “Growing up, I hated school,” Raynor told KOB 4 News. “You would never have believed I would’ve become an educator.”
Raynor will receive part of the $100,000 in grants and kits distributed to educators who teach students from low-income communities, including students of underrepresented and underserved backgrounds.
“The opportunities that we can present to them now is a lot more than what I was used to growing up,” Raynor told KOB 4 News.
Before his teaching career, Raynor first joined the Air Force, where he served as a technician for 20 years. His service in the military led him to an interest in science, which has led to 13 years as a teacher.
Raynor and his students have found ways to protect the community from breathing smoke from wildfires and wood-burning during colder months.
“This project we’re working on is with air sensors,” Raynor said, according to KOB 4 News. “We plant them wherever, and we figure out if the air is good enough for people with breathing problems.”
The new STEM research kit from Society for Science will be used to develop ways to test water quality, another issue residents face in the reservation.
