Congratulations to Lincoln High School science teachers Natalie Reszka Zayas and Elainea Kesler-Horan, who were named Science Teaching Award of Excellence recipients by the Washington Science Teachers Association.

Reszka Zayas’ transformative leadership at Lincoln
Reszka Zayas, a National Board-Certified educator, teaches AP Biology and AP Environmental Science. She leads Lincoln’s science department and the Science Outdoors Program.

“Natalie has had a transformative impact on our science department and our entire school community,” said Lincoln Principal Karl Hoseth. “Through her visionary leadership, she has redefined how our science teachers engage students, inspiring them to think in new and innovative ways.”

During her 10 years at Lincoln, Reszka Zayas has become a cornerstone of the school community and a respected leader in science education across Tacoma and the state. Through Science Outdoors, a program she founded and directs, more than 1,000 students have participated in immersive, field-based science learning since 2022, including expeditions to Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and backpacking.

Each year of the program, Reska Zayas organized and led over 10 full-day and overnight filed experiences connecting classroom learning to real-world environmental science for hundreds of students. Her work has driven a 60% increase in overall science enrollment, an expansion in AP science courses offered at Lincoln, and a 13% improvement in science course passing rates schoolwide. Student surveys also show a 35% increase in STEM career interest among participating students since the program's launch.

Reszka Zayas facilitates district, regional and state-level professional learning on outdoor education, climate justice, and equitable science teaching. She has built lasting partnerships with Mount Rainier Institute, Tacoma Nature Center, Mount St. Helens Institute, Outdoors for All, Sahale Outdoors, Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, Tacoma Marine Youth Foundation, Washington Trails Association, and many other local organizations that connect students to authentic, place-based science.

This year, she was also named the E3 Washington K–12 Teacher of the Year (2025) for her pioneering work advancing environmental and sustainability education statewide.

“Natalie is deeply respected by our community for her passion, work ethic, and unwavering commitment to students,” Hoseth added. “Her leadership has redefined how our school approaches science as a lens for belonging and opportunity.”

Kesler-Horan brings science to life for students
Kesler-Horan is an AP physics and physics teacher, and serves as STEM Club advisor at Lincoln, as well as a Hutch Teacher Fellow and QuarkNet Particle Physics Teacher-Researcher.

“We were honored that Elainea was selected to participate in the prestigious Fred Hutch Teacher Fellows program,” Hoseth said. “They guided students in creating STEAM for Justice projects. They established partnerships through QuarkNet, collaborating with well-respected universities across the country to enhance our physics program.”

Kesler-Horan is an apprentice biomedical researcher, participating in the Hutch Fellowship for Excellence in STEM Teaching at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. The Fellowship program is an intensive, two-year professional learning experience for secondary science teachers that includes an eight-week cancer-focused biomedical research experience each summer.

Kesler-Horan is hosted and mentored by the laboratory of Dr. Nina Salama, a Professor in the Human Biology and Public Health Sciences Divisions at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. The Salama Lab studies H. pylori, a stomach bacterium that is associated with ulcers and gastric cancer. To share with others about their experience as a science teacher conducting cancer research, Kesler-Horan published a post to the Hutch Teacher Fellowship Blog titled, “H. pylori, Cell Shape, & Mutant CcmA Alleles: How a Summer of Lab Research Leads to High School Cancer Curricula.”

The program requires that teachers develop and pilot curriculum in their classroom.  Kesler-Horan created and piloted "Spinning Into Action: H. pylori's Rotational Mechanics and Community Health," a unit where students study circular and rotational motion from the phenomenon of H. pylori's helical shape and movement. Students also learn about injustices in the medical field. The culminating project requires students to address an injustice in their community using STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) principles and research as evidentiary support in their argumentation. Students submitted their projects to Fred Hutch's STEAM for Justice Summit, where the best projects are chosen for public presentation with other high school students and educators from around the state. Last year, Lincoln students made up over 80% of the projects. Students presented on topics from gun violence, to immigration reform, to urban heat islands and education equity, to disability rights.

Kesler-Horan is committed to an equitable, inclusive education for all students. Their disability advocacy has included independently mentoring a student with disabilities, which led to that student having multiple recorded speeches distributed throughout the district.

Kesler-Horan also created curriculum with intensive scaffolds and differentiated instruction to ensure all students grades 9-12 can be successful in physics regardless of ability or multilingual status.

“Elainea is respected for their passion, equity lens, work ethic, enthusiasm for science, and their incredible heart for students,” Hoseth said. “Our students are thriving as scholars due to their leadership at Lincoln. They are bringing science to life for all students and inspiring teachers in our school to uncover ways to make learning visible.”