Rachel Benzoni

Rachel Benzoni

Sponsor: U.S. Department of Energy
Fellowship Placement: United States House of Representatives
Hometown: Omaha, NE

Rachel teaches Environmental Science, Honors and Advanced Placement Chemistry, and Science for intermediate English Learners at Omaha Northwest Magnet High School in Omaha, Nebraska. She has taught for seven years, six of which has been spent at Omaha Northwest Magnet and one year as the sophomore and Advanced Placement Chemistry teacher and Anatomy and Physiology teacher at Mount Michael Benedictine School in Elkhorn, Nebraska. Miss Benzoni earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Creighton University, her M.S. in Secondary Education from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, her English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement from Concordia University, her M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning from Midland University, and is currently enrolled as an Ed.D. doctoral student in the Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was an early adopter of the curricular changes brought on by the Next Generation Science Standards and has provided professional development for her colleagues on multiple occasions.

In her first year with Omaha Public Schools, Miss Benzoni developed curriculum for high school science courses which prepare newcomer and intermediate English learners for mainstream instruction. As a champion of equitable science instruction for all, she was alarmed by a lack of resources and training for rural science teachers struggling to meet the needs of students’ changing demographics. Her determination to address those needs led to her being asked to serve as a Board Member-At-Large for the Nebraska Association of Teachers of Science (NATS). During her tenure, she asked science teachers statewide to give input on what they needed from NATS, which led to the development of a mentoring program for new teachers and the creation of dedicated space for resource sharing.