Coit Hendley
Teacher
Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Greenbelt, Maryland
Mr. Hendley has been teaching for 32 years, and is currently teaching five sections of AP Chemistry and one section of Research Practicum. He has developed the AP Chemistry program into one that involves three teachers, eight sections and 240 students. The program has been recognized by the College Board since 2006 for having the most number of African-American students with a score of 3 or better.
His Research Practicum section is part of a program where seniors do an individual research project. He runs the Watershed Integrated Study Program in which teams of students measure the water quality of fourteen sites in the area and use the data to study local and general water quality.
Coit is National Board Certified and is an active grant writer. He has received several Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund Grants as well as a GTE GIFT Fellowship, a Toyota Tapestry Grant and NEA student Achievement Award. He is also a winner of other awards including the Leo Shubert Memorial Award–The Chemical Society of Washington, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, the RadioShack National Teacher Award, the Christa McAuliffe Award and the Siemens AP Teacher Award. However, he is most proud of school awards voted on by the students. He was recognized as the National Honor Society Teacher of the Year and twice the Science and Technology Teacher of the Year.
Coit received a BA in Chemistry from Cornell University and a MA in Science Education from the University of Maryland.
The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is honored to have had the assistance of the following distinguished individuals serving on the 2011 Life Sciences Awards Evaluation Committee:
- Russell A. Bantham, Esquire
McLean, VA - Alan Bronstein
Chemistry Teacher
Central High School
Philadelphia, PA - Christine Leyden
Senior Vice President and Chief Accreditation Officer
URAC
Washington, D.C.
