Amy Boros and Shari Insley teach middle school science in different parts of the state, but they share a passion for bringing the real world into their classrooms for their students. Over the summer, the Perrysburg Education Association member and the North Olmsted Education Association member shared grant funding to travel far out into the real world for a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience that will enhance their students' learning for years to come. On this episode, they share how they're using what they saw and did in Iceland to help their students learn and grow in Ohio, and their advice for other educators who want to experience this kind of real-world professional development for themselves.

SEE THE HIGHLIGHTS | Click here to see some of Shari's photos from the Fund for Teachers fellowship in Iceland. Click here to see Amy's highlights from the trip.

EXPLORE THE OPPORTUNITIES | Amy and Shari mentioned several grants and learning opportunities available to Ohio science educators. See the following links for more information about some of them:

• Fund For Teachers Grant  
• Teacher Air Camp  
• Yellowstone Educator Opportunity Summer 2026 
• Amy and Shari also shared an OEA Technology Grant to buy cameras and go pros to use on their trip and in their classrooms back home. Please note, OEA is in the process of redeveloping and streamlining the Affiliate Grant Program, and as part of the transition, no applications are being accepted for Technology Grants for the 2025-26 cycle. Make sure you listen to Episode 16 of Public Education Matters to learn more on the OEA grants being offered right now.

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Featured Public Education Matters guests: 

• Amy Boros, Perrysburg Education Association member
  • Amy Boros teaches 5th and 6th grade Science at Hull Prairie Intermediate School in Perrysburg. She has experience in classroom teaching at the elementary, middle school and collegiate levels; educational classroom technology; grant researching, authoring
    and evaluation, as well as educational consulting and conference presentations in both mathematics and science. With degrees from Bowling Green State University and the University of Toledo, Amy is currently in her 30th year in education.
  • Amy is an accomplished grant writer who has been awarded thousands of dollars in grants for her classroom, school, district, and outside organizations. In addition, Amy has authored several articles about middle school science education in Science Scope Journal and Science and Children Journal, publications of The National Science Teachers Association.
  • In 2019, Amy was invited to participate in an extensive research project onboard the Lake Guardian, an EPA research vessel on Lake Erie; selected as one of 15 educators to collect data alongside scientists. While on board, she evaluated the presence of
    microplastics, toxic algae and microbial organisms in surface water and sediment throughout Lake Erie’s basins.
  • She continues to work alongside scientists by helping with research, most recently in Costa Rica and Yellowstone National Park.
  • Amy was awarded the 2022 President’s Innovation Award in Environmental Education, a joint award from the White House and the EPA for her environmental education work inside and outside of the classroom.
• Shari Insley, North Olmsted Education Association member
  • Shari Insley is a middle school math and science teacher for North Olmsted City Schools with 20 years of experience in education. Of her 20 years in education, the past 18 years have been dedicated to North Olmsted, and her first 2 years were spent teaching in Gallup, New Mexico.
  • Shari earned a B.S. in Middle Childhood Education in Mathematics and Science and a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. In addition to her teaching expertise, Shari was honored as the recipient of the 2024 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators. She has also served on the Strategic Planning Committee for the Science Education Council of Ohio the past 2 years.
  • Since 2016, Shari has dedicated her summers to participating in educator courses to expand her knowledge of freshwater ecosystems in the Great Lakes. She has taken part in grant opportunities through Ohio Sea Grant at The Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory, sailed aboard the R/V Lake Guardian with the EPA, and worked with the Gelfand STEM Center at Case Western Reserve University. Most recently, Shari was awarded a Fund for Teachers grant to travel to Iceland in the summer of 2025, where she explored the country’s unique geothermal and glacial environments to enrich her environmental science curriculum.

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• The Ohio Education Association represents nearly 120,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges, and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children. OEA members provide professional services to benefit students, schools, and the public in virtually every position needed to run Ohio’s schools.
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