By Mark Abromaitis
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

It’s always been about the children.

Mary Ann Starkey, a resident at Maris Grove and former teacher at West Bradford Elementary School, in Downingtown, Pa., was recently presented the Outstanding Contributions to Mathematics Education Award at the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of  Mathematics annual conference.

Starkey was presented the award for her lifetime commitment to teaching and math education.

“It is an honor,” Starkey says. But her career as a teacher was never about awards. “I was a classroom teacher first and foremost,” she says. “But I joined a few committees to help revise [curriculum] and one thing lead to another. It was just a way to try and help other teachers.”

As a teacher of elementary students for more than 37 years, Starkey has  presented at state and national math conferences, written numerous articles, and presented many teacher training workshops. Her work with the Downingtown area school district as a leader in math and, as a mentor to other teachers, has served to help first, second, and third graders not only be better mathematicians, but to instill a life-long love of the subject.

Making math accessible
“She’s a great teacher, but above all she’s always been a good friend and mentor,” Mindy Hamond, a first grade teacher at West Bradford says about Starkey. “She’s great with math and computers and is always willing to go the  extra mile to help her team.”

Starkey was a recipient of the National Science Foundation Mathematics Teacher of the Year Award in 1995 and has even appeared on the Today Show advocating the use of calculators in the classroom.

Something new every day
But Hamond says it is Starkey’s report with her students that is most  impressive. “She approaches mathematics with discovery and never takes the fun out of it,” Hamond explains. “The children are always enthusiastic and excited when they are with her.”