Debra Kaiser

Debra Kaiser earned a BA in Geological Sciences and an M.Ed. in Earth Science Education from SUNY at Buffalo. Ms. Kaiser began her career in 2006 in Virginia, teaching Earth Science, Geology, Astronomy, and Environmental Science for ten years. Ms. Kaiser participated in and served as a mentor teacher in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory from 2010 to 2015. While serving as Astronomy Club advisor in 2011, a student was credited with the discovery of a previously unknown pulsar. She was selected to be part of the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program in 2011 and presented collaborative publications at the American Astronomical Society Conference in 2012. Ms. Kaiser attended the Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy program in 2013. In 2015, she served as a delegation leader for the People-to-People Student Ambassador Program, traveling with eighth-grade students throughout Europe. Ms. Kaiser began teaching General and Earth Sciences in New York in 2017 and currently instructs eighth-grade Regents Earth Science at Mill Middle School. Her goals are to empower students to explore their own path of learning, to make connections between classwork and the real world, and to instill the abilities to think critically and problem-solve. Outside of school, Ms. Kaiser works as a tutor and loves to spend time with her friends and family. She also enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, and photography. She can often be found outside observing with her telescopes. She is looking forward to collaborating with other master teachers and growing as an educator.