Growing up, I wanted to be an inventor, solving problems that would help people have better lives. Every day at KnowAtom is an opportunity to invent solutions that give thousands of students and teachers a better experience doing science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM). Providing educators with professional satisfaction and students with the opportunity to understand the world we live in is my way of helping people have better lives."
As a high school math teacher, Vigeant asked himself a simple question: How can I take the knowledge our students need and make it matter to them? His answer was to create KnowAtom, building its core architecture and platform alignment around the idea of making science, engineering, and math real and personal to students.
Vigeant has taught science, engineering, and mathematics to kindergarten through twelfth-grade students in a variety of learning environments, ranging from college prep and honors classrooms to self-contained, team-taught, and inclusion settings. His focus on scientific and engineering practices and their relationship to the learning process has helped schools become leaders in science education, based on statewide assessment data. Vigeant is a strong believer in empowering professional teachers and has created Professional Learning Community models designed to empower change at the classroom level across large urban districts.
Vigeant’s achievements have been recognized by the American Federation of Teachers’ publication, The Advocate, in which he was profiled as an up-and-coming educational innovator. He is a presenter at the National Science Teachers Association National Conference, Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers, and Massachusetts Technology Education/Engineering Collaborative.
Vigeant served as founding President of STEM Power, Inc. (formerly called STEM Synergy, Inc.) an international NGO and U.S registered 501(c)3 coordinating and restructuring over $25MM in STEM education investments across East Africa. He has been a regular contributor to STEM Education Workgroups including the Clinton Global Initiative and currently serves as a strategic advisor to the School of Education at Gordon College.
Science provides a great venue to try out ideas and not be threatened when things don’t work as first expected. A great part of the learning experience comes from the opportunity to re-visit and re-think anticipated outcomes and results.”
DeLacy began his education career as a high school teacher at Westford Academy in Massachusetts before joining the technology revolution in the area of software development, specializing in student data management for 25 years. DeLacy has worked as an applied social research consultant for Bell Associates, the MBTA, Massport, and Boston Public Schools.
He was an instructor and practitioner at the University of Phoenix’s MBA program where he taught project planning and change management as well as database design. He has also taught management classes at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass., and Eastern Nazarene College, in Quincy, Mass. DeLacy holds a Master’s in Educational Management and Administration from Cambridge College and a B.A. in English from Salem State University.
Science, like myself, is constantly evolving and in the process of becoming. It is through that discovery process that new knowledge and growth are realized.”
DeLacy has worked as a licensed elementary school teacher for Massachusetts Public Schools, specializing in multi-age, multi-grade classrooms for more than 25 years. As a lead teacher, she chaired science and math curriculum review committees and was trained by WestEd to lead data-based decision-making curriculum workshops.
DeLacy was responsible for introducing the new writing curriculum to Manchester Memorial School to coordinate district goals. She was a regular presenter for the Northeast Consortium for Staff Development and was president of the Manchester Memorial School Teacher’s Association for five years. DeLacy is an active member of the National Education Association and the Massachusetts Teachers Association. She holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Education from Salem State University.
My love and curiosity for science were fueled at a young age by experiments with backyard river algae and physics lessons with Bill Nye. For me, science is a lifelong quest for discovery, inspired by the amazing world we live in. I believe that through scientific knowledge, each person has the ability to improve their lives, create innovative technologies, and empower society."
Lanoue has taught kindergarten through fifth grade science and engineering to students in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She also has a background in strategic planning to improve resources and practices for effective teaching and learning. Lanoue has a passion for transforming education by providing highly engaging STEM learning experiences for every student. She joined KnowAtom in 2007, where she collaborates on the design and implementation of STEM curriculum and labs.
As an educator, there is nothing more exciting to me that watching a child become a scientist. Discovering that they have the power to ask questions about the world around them and the abilities to seek out the answers to those questions.”
Judy Higgins has been a teacher for 19 years in Seattle, Washington and Greater Boston Massachusetts. For the past 5 years she taught science, using the KnowAtom curriculum, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She has also worked as a corporate trainer in Boston and Seattle. Judy has a degree in Elementary Education, Reading and Literacy and Master’s degree in Business Administration.
As a learner, I always want to know the "whys," never happy at accepting things at face value. I love that science provides a process to answer questions and encourages a healthy dose of skepticism. I enjoy nurturing that same sense of curiosity with my students and giving them opportunities and tools to ask questions, make discoveries for themselves, and solve problems."
Colpoys taught in Massachusetts public schools for 37 years, spending many of those years teaching grades 4 and 6 north of Boston. During those years she became a leader among her peers serving on the district’s Professional Development Committee and their district-wide Curriculum Leadership Team. She has led teachers in science and math professional learning across her district and for other districts nation-wide. Colpoys holds a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Special Education.
Colpoys taught the KnowAtom curriculum for over ten years and attributes it to changing her view on science instruction. She has a passion for STEM education and student agency.
