For immediate release on behalf of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association.
Contact: Amy Francisco, 888-879-8282, afrancisco@tcta.org

AUSTIN—Joy Lin, the mathematics curriculum specialist at Linder Elementary School in Austin ISD, has been named the Texas Classroom Teachers Association’s 2013-14 Innovator of the Year.

TCTA, a professional association for teachers and other classroom professionals, annually presents its Innovator of the Year Award to recognize innovative, outstanding work that has produced recognizable results in the classroom, school or district.

Austin CTA, a local affiliate of the statewide TCTA, nominated Lin for the award, “because Joy has made great efforts to show the world that science doesn’t have to be boring, and that science is in everything we do.”

Lin has worked almost exclusively with at-risk students since she was hired by AISD in 2005. She served as the science department chair at the Travis County Juvenile Detention Center and as the special education department chair at the Ann Richards School before joining the faculty of Linder Elementary.

“She believes the best way to teach math and science is by using real-life examples students can relate to,” said fellow AISD teacher Zachary Savoie. “She consistently puts in many extra hours after school to come up with out-of-the-box methods to explain complex math and science theories.”

In 2012, TED and Kohl’s Cares chose Lin as one of 18 winners of the national “Lessons Worth Sharing” contest sponsored. TED subsequently asked her to do a six-video lesson miniseries that engages students by making a connection between physics and super powers, such as flying and invisibility. Since the series, which can be viewed at http://ed.ted.com/series/superhero-science, launched in 2013 it has been featured in more than 100 online science magazines and websites.

TCTA will honor Lin and other award winners June 26 at an awards luncheon during the association’s annual convention in Fort Worth, where educators from across the state will participate in continuing education seminars, elect leaders for statewide positions within TCTA, and vote on TCTA’s legislative and policy positions.

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About TCTA

The Texas Classroom Teachers Association is the leading teacher association in Texas. Founded in 1927, TCTA is a nonprofit, independent professional association based in Austin that serves 50,000 members statewide. It is the only statewide teachers’ association that limits active-level membership to those directly involved in classroom teaching or teaching support, including librarians, counselors and teacher aides.