2019 Winner

We are proud to announce that the

2019 recipient of the JMU High School Physics Teacher of the Year Award

 is

Mr. Christopher Foust

Hermitage High School, Henrico, VA

The student who has nominated Mr. Foust is Devin Stipe, currently a physics major at JMU. Here is Devin in his own words describing the exceptional attributes of his nominee:

“My teacher, Mr. Foust, was one of the best teachers I’d ever had. He has a real passion for physics and it shows in class, while he’s teaching. The attribute that stands out the most with Mr. Foust is his ability to keep the class interested and interactive. At times he’d bring in equipment and demonstrate physics first hand. Then he’d explain, or better yet, get his students to explain why things happened the way they did. Those moments are still in the memories of me and my friends. He’d encourage us to think logically, using the knowledge we have from the world around us and the knowledge he taught us. In physics, that is the way one should think when it comes to solving a problem. I don’t think I would have ended up as a physics major without him.”

When asked about the impact your course “College prep Physics” had on him, Devin added that:

“Prior to taking that physics class, I had little to no interest in a STEM major. I planned on being an engineering major simply because it was something to do. After taking Mr. Foust’s physics course, I was sure physics is something I wanted to continue in.”