Sakhalin Finnie
Grade 9 Science Teacher
Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy
Wilmington, CA
Biographical Information:
At Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy in Wilmington, Sakhalin Finnie has improved academic performance among her ninth-grade students by involving them in creative, engaging, hands-on science assignments and lab experiments. As an educator in a high-need school, Finnie, a former engineer, was selected by NASA as a science ambassador in its Minority University Math, Science and Technology Award for Teacher Education Program (MASTAP), which provides her with access to NASA’s educational resources to aid in her teaching. She helped raise reading scores among a group of struggling students by 10 percent, and led her ninth-grade Integrated Coordinated Science (ICS) students to a first-place victory in the district's Earth Science Challenge. Finnie created a Saturday Science Club and began a summer science "bridge" program to help incoming freshmen make a smooth transition to high school. Leader and organizer of the school's Future Teacher Club, Finnie has inspired dozens of talented young people to enter the teaching profession. She is the school's representative for United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and was instrumental in establishing a peer review process for teachers.
