North Ridgeville teacher honored for her work with water
North Ridgeville STEAM teacher Megan Wood honored by local nonprofit for her work in water conservation. Megan Wood, a seventh and eighth grade STEAM teacher at Ranger High-Tech Academy in North Ridgeville, Ohio, has been named the Drink Local Drink Tap Teacher of the Year for her work with the global nonprofit organization. The organization's mission is to improve water access globally through education, advocacy, and community-centered water, sanitation and hygiene projects. Wood has worked with Drink local Drink Tap for the past five years as part of the Wave Maker Program and has taught students about water access, usage and conservation. She also participated in educational programs and clean up efforts along Edgewater Beach.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Rodger Roeser | [email protected], Rodger Roeser, rroeser in Business
NORTH RIDGEVILLE, OH -- Recently, the Cleveland based global nonprofit organization ‘Drink Local Drink Tap’ held their World Water Day Celebration. At this event, awards were distributed to teachers, students, and schools throughout Northeast Ohio. Ms. Megan Wood, a seventh and eighth grade STEAM teacher at Ranger High-Tech Academy, was selected as the Drink Local Drink Tap Teacher of the Year.
Wood has worked with Drink Local Drink Tap for the past five years as part of the Wave Maker Program. Their mission is to help improve water access globally through education, advocacy and community-centered water, sanitation and hygiene projects. This program has enhanced the curriculum Wood uses by teaching students about water access, usage and conservation and how it impacts the community.
“We are proud to have such innovative teachers within our North Ridgeville City Schools family. With their leadership, we are truly providing a well-rounded education to our students,” district superintendent Roxann Caserio said.
Wood is from Lorain and is a graduate of Clearview High School and a 2019 graduate of The Ohio State University. She has worked as a teacher at North Ridgeville Schools since her graduation and says she enjoys teaching in the STEAM program, which provides specialized learning and experiences for the students.
“It’s an honor to receive this award and be recognized for the work that we do, but I certainly don’t do it for any awards or recognition. It came as a complete surprise to me,” Wood smiled. “We’re very fortunate to live on our very own great lake, and it’s important that we are good stewards of that very precious resource that we sometimes take for granted.”
Wood has worked with Drink Local Drink Tap for the past five years and has participated in a number of educational programs, as well as clean up efforts along Edgewater Beach. She has taken multiple field trips with her students, including visits to the wastewater treatment plant to showcase where our water comes from.
The nonprofit group drills wells in Africa to help areas without reliable access to fresh drinking water, and shares that information with Wood and her class to help students understand that not everyone can just turn on the faucets and out comes fresh, clean water.
“It really helps to educate all of us to understand the synergies we share with our water systems, and how truly important they are in our everyday lives,” Wood said. “When you see pictures and hear stories of folks that have to carry water in buckets for miles each day, you truly come to appreciate how fortunate we really are. And, I think that translates well to the kids where we can discuss different plans they would have to keep improving how we use water and even what small things we can all do to be better stewards and to simply appreciate the treasure we have in our own backyard.”