Sergio de Alba to Receive AGI's Roy Award for Excellence in K-8 Earth Science Teaching

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Sergio de Alba, a sixth-grade teacher at R.M. Miano Elementary School in Los Banos, California, has been named the 2019 recipient of the Edward C. Roy Jr. Award for Excellence in K-8 Earth Science Teaching.

De Alba earned his Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies as well as multiple certificates in Bilingual Cross-Cultural Language, Multiple Subject Teaching, and School Administration from California State University, Stanislaus. In his 18 years as a teacher, de Alba has received awards and recognitions such as the Los Banos Unified School District Teacher of the Year award, National Science Teacher Association Sylvia Shugrue Award for Elementary School Teachers, EPA Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators award honorable mention, and Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence.

In addition to teaching, de Alba is highly involved in community projects geared towards science inquiry and multi-cultural involvement in science. He has developed schoolwide programs for understanding the importance of science education, as well as gained funding through grants and donations for classroom programs benefiting students at his school.

“Mr. de Alba is an amazing educational force,” said Allyson Anderson Book, Executive Director of the American Geosciences Institute. “He is a clear stand-out among applicants, both past and present, and his work shows incredible enthusiasm and spirit for teaching Earth science.”

De Alba will receive the award in April at the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) Friends of Earth Science Reception, sponsored by Activate Learning and the American Meteorological Society, during the 2019 National Science Teaching Association Conference in St. Louis. This year’s finalists were Joseph C. Perry of Palmyra-Macedon Middle School in Palmyra, New York, and Jill A. Weaver of Valley View Junior High School in Farmersville, Ohio.