Math Teacher John O’Malley received the 2023 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) from the administration of former President Joe Biden. The award winners were announced by the National Science Foundation in January.

The award process started with a recommendation that came from Annie Forrest, the President of the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM), several essays from O’Malley, letters of recommendation, and video clips of him teaching, Phil Gartner, Math Instructional Supervisor, said.

“[Applying is] an arduous process,” Gartner said. “[O’Malley needed] a letter of recommendation from me as a supervisor as well as the building principal. When he became a finalist, [he needed] fingerprinting and background checks [so he could] be cleared to go visit the White House.”

The process to apply involved many of his mentors, including Gartner, Forrest, and others from ICTM, which is one of the reasons he views his award as a group success rather than a personal one, O’Malley said.

“[The award] shows all the work that everyone has done together to get me [to this spot],” O’Malley said. “I’ve had so many amazing mentors in my life and I work with such fantastic colleagues, so I feel like this is a ‘we’ award.”

O’Malley hopes to use his award as an inspiration to other teachers and students in the future. He used to struggle with math, and it wasn’t always his favorite class, but as he started to understand the subject, he grew to love it. Because O’Malley loves math so much, he hopes to inspire others to feel the same.

O’Malley has personally inspired freshman Mia Denhert, one of his students. Like O’Malley, she has not always found math fun, but with his help, she has started to look forward to geometry because he makes her feel comfortable in class, Denhert said.

“In math, there is a right and wrong and [O’Malley] makes me feel comfortable when [I am] in the wrong,” Denhert said.

O’Malley has always created a productive learning environment, Denhert said. This year, O’Malley has helped her make sure she understands the material at hand and the steps it takes to get to the end result before moving on, Dehnert said.

“Not only is O’Malley a really amazing teacher, but he also is a great person,” Dehnert said. “[O’Malley] cares about your education, he cares about your learning, and he truly cares if you understand [the topic] or not.”