Her Story
Peggy Carlisle began teaching in 1973 in a small farming community. After eleven years she and her husband began their family, and she stayed home for nine years to raise their daughters. She returned to the classroom in 1993, in an urban Jackson school district where 97 percent of the students qualify for free lunch and all are African-American, and where test scores sat well below state averages and students arrived “with an air of discouragement.”
In 1996 she was one of ten elementary teachers chosen to pilot the district’s modular science kits through Project SEED, and she found that hands-on, inquiry-based science was the instant motivation her students needed. At Pecan Park she is the ExCEL teacher, and 98 third graders and 55 fourth graders rotate through her room each day in fifty-minute blocks. There are no textbooks. Her thematic units tie science to math, reading and writing, and each ends with a student-built museum of projects where the children serve as hosts for parents and other classes.
Her students’ curiosity shows up everywhere: they dissect owl pellets, raise crayfish, and ask to study magnetism, bubbles, dinosaurs and dill pickle-making. One student walked two miles to a library to learn about the carnivorous plants she had brought to class. Visitors often ask whether hers is “the gifted class.” Test scores have risen and the students’ writing has grown.
Beyond the Classroom
Kenyan Project, which began in 2004 when a visiting director of a mission serving bush schools in Kitale, Kenya, spoke to her class. Her students write to Kenyan students, learn Swahili words, and make and sell pet rocks, key chains and wooden dolls to raise money for the Kenyan children. They have raised more than $1,000, and the grant extends the project to all 550 Pecan Park students.
She has written grants totaling more than $85,000, including a $10,000 Toyota TAPESTRY grant that gives each of her 153 students ten trade books for a home library, along with magnifying lenses, magnets, fossils and mealworms to take home. She is a National Board Certified Teacher (1999), has mentored more than 50 National Board candidates and over twenty first-year teachers, and has trained more than 250 teachers in inquiry-based science. She works each summer as a National Board assessment trainer in Dallas, serves on NSTA committees and the Toyota TAPESTRY judging panel, and since 2002 has been a member of the Teacher Advisory Council of the National Academies in Washington, DC. In October 2004 she testified before the Mississippi House Education Committee on teacher pay and mentoring for new teachers.
Philosophy Into Practice
Carlisle believes a science teacher is “a facilitator, motivator, learning partner, guide, and ardent supporter of children,” and that she must know her students’ neighborhoods, culture and obstacles as well as their gifts. She chooses activities that spark curiosity right away, lets students’ questions and interests shape the units, and works in teams of four so every child is a valued member.
She measures success through observation, conversation, student journals and predictions, and by what children do on their own: a raccoon leg, a geode, a microscope that was the only thing a child asked for at Christmas. She says she does not complain about problems but creates solutions.
“My goal is to open students’ eyes so that they will be empowered to question, wonder and find their own answers through discovery.”— Peggy Carlisle
“The most productive relationship between teachers and students is built on trust and an enthusiasm for learning — for both the students and the teacher.”— Peggy Carlisle
In Her Own Words
“I strive to empower my students to believe that anything is possible when we set no boundaries on our dreams.”— Peggy Carlisle
“I feel a professional does not complain about problems, but rather, creates solutions.”— Peggy Carlisle
“My goal is to open students’ eyes so that they will be empowered to question, wonder and find their own answers through discovery.”— Peggy Carlisle
“I strive to help students realize that they have control over their path in life and are limited only by the size of their dreams.”— Peggy Carlisle
“Learning becomes a partnership built on trust and mutual respect.”— Peggy Carlisle
“To direct a child, to influence his life, is a great gift and responsibility.”— Peggy Carlisle
What Others Said
“Peggy Carlisle has received dozens of national, state and local awards for teaching excellence.”— Tony Carlisle, nominator and spouse
“Mrs. Carlisle is an inspiring, creative, and compassionate teacher who welcomes challenges and is constantly seeking unique ways to keep children interested in learning.”— Wanda Quon, Principal, Pecan Park Elementary
“Each unit has culminated with a “museum exhibit” created on the stage complete with student tour guides for the student body and parents to enjoy.”— Wanda Quon, Principal, Pecan Park Elementary
“Mrs. Carlisle makes science interesting, just walking into her room lets you know that this is not a regular class but a learning environment specifically arranged to get young minds thinking.”— Lorna Thomas, colleague and parent of a former student
“Mrs. Carlisle has been a pioneer in our district reform.”— Beth Williamson, Pecan Park ExCEL Teacher
“There is not a child who leaves her classroom without a love of science.”— Beth Williamson, Pecan Park ExCEL Teacher