Valerie Ziegler

Valerie Ziegler

School: Abraham Lincoln High School
District: San Fransisco Unified School District
County: San Fransisco County
Region: Northern California
Grade: High School
Subject: History, Career Technical Education (CTE)
Award Year: 2010

Valerie Ziegler teaches U.S. History, American Democracy, Economics and AP U.S. Politics & Government and two CTE courses in the Energy, Environment & Utilities sector at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco. In addition she has served as the chair of the Social Studies Department and as a team teacher of the Teacher Academy that provides hands on experiences for high school students interested in the field of education or careers working with children.

Ms. Ziegler is the founder and coordinator of the Green Academy. This three year program serves students interested in careers in the green economy. The program focuses extensively on project based learning and provides students opportunities for career exploration. Valerie has built up an impressive network of community supporters and takes students on biweekly field trips across San Francisco and brings numerous guest speakers into the classroom.

Ms. Ziegler works to continually develop her teaching skills through her work with Stanford University’s History Department to develop and test curriculum for the Reading Like a Historian, Beyond the Bubble and Civil Online Reasoning programs. Ms. Ziegler spends summers taking part in professional development having traveled to visit schools and work with teachers in Colombia, Germany, Finland and across the U.S.