Leigh Jenkins
Department of Education
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
West Virginia – Grades 9-12, Biology and Environmental Science
Originally from El Paso, Texas, Leigh Jenkins attended undergraduate school at Texas A&M University in College Station where she received her Bachelor of Science in Sociology. Upon graduation, she began her career at the Travis State School in Austin, Texas, working with mentally and emotionally handicapped boys. Her social work led to participation in a National Institute of Mental Health fellowship in Program Evaluation and Research Training at the University of Texas at El Paso where she completed her Master of Arts in Sociology. While at the university she was active in the League of Academic Women, the Western Social Science Association, and served as president of the Sociology and Anthropology Student Association.
While in El Paso, Leigh served as an intern at the Office of Energy Conservation for the City of El Paso. While in this position, she helped research and develop a fuel management program for the municipal fleet, as well as conducting and analyzing a survey of community attitudes toward energy management objectives. Her interest in energy and the environment led her to a position as an Environmental Specialist at Gifford-Hill & Company, a cement and concrete products corporation in Irving, Texas. While at Gifford -Hill, she provided technical and regulatory information, guidance, and consultation to the operating divisions of the company pertaining to compliance with state and federal environmental laws and regulations.
In 1994, Leigh returned to Shepherd College, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia to pursue a teaching certificate in Biology and General Science. She began teaching at Paw Paw High School in 1998 and in 2001 moved to Berkeley Springs High School in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. While at Berkeley Springs High School, she became certified to teach both Advanced Placement Biology and Advanced Placement Environmental Science. As the high school science fair coordinator, she has supported student led research and experimentation. She has also actively participated in environmental education by coaching and encouraging student participation in the Envirothon, an national environmental science competition.
In 2005, she began work on a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction, General Science, which will be awarded in August of 2010. Her graduate thesis, 21st Century Symposium: A Case Study, details an innovative pilot project modeling a student-led, student-driven course where students pursue areas of interest while utilizing 21st century skills including social networking and web-based research, leading to publishable and presentable products. During her twelve years of secondary teaching, she has been committed to STEM education by including 21st Century Learning and 21st Century Technology skills in her classroom.
Leigh has served as the Executive Director of the Friends of the Cacapon River where she procured grants for stream-bank restoration. She was chosen as the 2001 Conservation Teacher of the Year from the Eastern Panhandle Soil Conservation District. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Potomac Valley Audubon Society, and is a certified Master Naturalist and a certified Master Gardener. In 2007, she was selected through the Japan Fulbright Memorial Teachers Fund to be a guest of the Japanese Government on a three-week trip study of Japanese culture and educational institutions. Recently, she and her students received a $41,000 service-learning grant to renovate an underutilized greenhouse on the Berkeley Springs High School campus, the design of which will utilize solar energy to model a sustainable year- round growing laboratory.