Two Northside ISD high school teachers have been named recipients of the San Antonio Mayoral/County Judge Outstanding Science and Mathematics Teaching Award.

Cheryl Alderman, math teacher at Clark High School, and Pam Zablocki, science teacher at Warren High School were surprised in their classrooms this week with checks for $1,000 each from the San Antonio Math & Science Education Coalition.

Coincidentally, both Alderman and Zablocki are graduates of NISD high schools. Learn more about the honorees below:

Cheryl Alderman: math teacher, Clark High School
Years of teaching experience: 3

"I feel very fortunate and honored to be chosen as a recipient for the Mayoral and County Judge Outstanding Math Teacher Award," Alderman said. "To promote success on the secondary level, an infusion of inquiry-based instruction and technology within mathematical lessons will promote students to be competitive in a world that is technologically savvy, complex, and ever changing."

Said Stan Laing, Clark Principal: "Cheryl literally changes lives for a living. Her ability to take her students, instill the value of education and math skills along with building a positive relationships so that these students value themselves, is quite an accomplishment in itself."

Pam Zablocki: biology, anatomy, and physiology teacher, Warren High School
Years of teaching experience: 2

"To receive an award like this is an incredible experience," Zablocki said. "I am still in a state of shock, but I am so grateful and ecstatic to receive this honor. I truly love my students and my job and this has been an amazing day for me."

According to Warren Principal Patty Hill: "Pamela Zablocki has the classroom management skills and content knowledge of a veteran master teacher. She designs innovative lessons that present challenging scientific content in an effective style that captures student interest."

This is the third year for the award, which is coordinated by the University of Texas at San Antonio and funded by H-E-B Grocery Co., USAA Education Foundation, and McCombs Foundation.

The award was established to honor quality math and science teachers in San Antonio or Bexar County in their first five years of teaching. A total of 12 teachers (two elementary, two middle, and two high school teachers in mathematics and in science) were selected.