CalTAC member
Susan Pritchard
CalTAC
Susan Pritchard
If you are an engineer, chemist, or physicist…and have a student in one of Dr. Pritchard’s classes…be prepared. She will probably put you to work! Susan Pritchard, Ph.D. teaches eighth grade science and pre-engineering Project Lead The Way courses at Washington Middle School in La Habra. She is a master at using a variety of resources to teach her students-including their parents. Parents working in science and technology-related fields speak to her classes, providing the students with real-world applications of science and engineering curricula. She worked on the board of the California Science Teachers Association for ten years, including as president from 2007 – 2009.
Having earned her National Board Certification in Early Adolescence Science, her professional credentials also include a Bachelor of Arts from UC Irvine, a masters degree from CSU, Fullerton and her doctorate from Claremont Graduate School. She has earned many awards including the Hughes Excellence in Science and Math Education, Project Tomorrow’s Vision for Excellence Award, and was a semi-finalist for the NSTA Shell Outstanding Science Educator Award. Most recently, Dr. Pritchard was chosen and celebrated as a Hero in the Classroom in Orange County. Her greatest dream, a STEM Career Pathway, grades K-16, is slowly becoming a reality. Her current efforts are continuing to work to make that goal a full reality. Dr. P, as her students call her, strives to be “the Johnny Appleseed of STEM,” and this dream is coming true.
In 2015-16, she guided a middle school group, The Water Guardians, which won state and national recognition for its recommendations on water conservation. In 2016, she was named California STEM Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Pritchard served on CalTAC from 2007-2011.
Our Mission
To engage leading experts in science and technology to advise State policymakers - ensuring that California policy is strengthened and informed by scientific knowledge, research, and innovation.
