CSC graduate is science teachers' district director
A Chadron State graduate, Sharla Dowding, who teaches science at Newcastle High School in Wyoming, has begun a three-year term as the District XV director for the National Science Teachers Association. The district includes Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. With more than 55,000 members, the NSTA is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching.
Dowding grew up on a ranch in the Marsland area, where her parents, Buzz and Rosalene Tollman, reside. She graduated from Crawford High School in 1986 and earned both a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology and a master’s of education degree in science education from Chadron State.
She began her teaching career at Rushville High School in 1992. While teaching there, she served as a board member for the Panhandle Math and Science Coalition. She has taught at Newcastle High School since1997, serves as the Newcastle School District’s science coordinator and is on the staff development team for the Weston County School District.
Dowding was a recipient of a national Radio Shack Tandy Teachers’ Award in 1999 and was selected as Wyoming’s Presidential High School Science Teacher of the Year for 2001.
“Sharla has spent much of her career helping improve the quality of science education in Wyoming and knows firsthand the challenges and unique needs of those who teach science,” said Gerry Wheeler, executive director, NSTA.
In addition to being the chair of the Northeast/Central Wyoming Regional Science Fair, Dowding has served as the co-chair of the Wyoming Math and Science Teachers Conference. She is past-president of the Wyoming Science Teachers Association.
Category: Campus News, Education, Student Awards & Achievements