Lisa San Martin

Sloan Awards for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics • 2019

Title and Organization Algebra I, Pre-Calculus, The Queens School of Inquiry (QSI)

Bio

Lisa San Martin is described as “a great teacher who changes lives” at QSI, which serves a diverse population of recent immigrants. Ms. San Martin is a master at calibrating her classes to meet the individual needs of each student. A former student Zalal Ahmed noted there is no escape from her caring and attention. “I have always been good at math, which meant I could often coast through classes. No way with Ms. San Martin. She kept challenging me every second.” Ms. San Martin coaches other math teachers at a CUNY institute, where a professor says, “She is held in such high esteem; she is not only helping to develop future teachers, she’s creating the standard for them to live up to.” As for Mr. Ahmed, who thought he wanted to be a math professor, he now says he wants to be a high school teacher to bring the same passion and connection into the classroom that Ms. San Martin does.

Lisa San Martin