Lynn Lahti Hommeyer
Department of Energy
Capitol Hill, Office of Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA)
Washington, DC, Elementary School Science
Lynn Lahti Hommeyer is a 20-year veteran in elementary education. During this time, she has worked as a science resource teacher, English language learner instructor, school-wide enrichment coordinator, and classroom teacher. Throughout her career, she has worked with underserved populations of students. Hommeyer is currently employed with the District of Columbia Public Schools as a resource teacher. During her previous tenure with St. Paul Public Schools, Ms. Hommeyer worked at the American Indian and World Cultures Magnet Schools.
Hommeyer hails from northern Minnesota where she received her B.S. in Elementary Education from Bemidji State University and her M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from Mankato State University. She also earned a B.A. in Food and Nutrition from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. In addition, Hommeyer obtained a Licensure in English as a Second Language from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Hommeyer represented Washington, DC in 2006 as a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. She has participated in a Fulbright-Hays Seminar to Australia to look at sustainable environmental practices. Currently, Ms. Hommeyer is serving as co-president of the DC Science Teacher Association and is a member of the Next Generation Science Standards writing team. Hommeyer’s efforts at grant writing have resulted in partnerships with the Best Buy Corporation, Fund for Teachers, United Way, Marshall Cavendish Foundation, Casey Trees, Carnegie Institute and The Phillips Collection. These partnerships have helped promote enhanced educational experiences for her school community.
Lynn has had guest teaching experiences all over the world, including Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Indonesia, Russia, Denmark, and Finland and believes that the US educational system has much to learn from international program models and structures. She is an advocate and practitioner of the Singapore Math method and curriculum and has recently piloted the Singapore Science curriculum to a group of third grade students as part of an analysis of science textbook materials.
As a Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching recipient in 2010, Lynn researched educational best practices in Finland. Her theoretical research was conducted at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland and involved case studies of elementary and secondary schools throughout the country. “I discovered that the common thread of excellence in Finnish schools is teacher pre-service education (Finnish teachers receive a five-year master-level degree before teaching in the classroom) and equitable school resources distributed throughout urban and rural areas. Public school education is the bedrock of Finnish society. Finns value education and knowledge because ‘brain power’ is seen as their best natural resource and export.”
Hommeyer is serving her fellowship on Capitol Hill working on STEM initiatives and constituent services in Congressman Mike Honda’s (D-CA) office.