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Watch out for Woolweaver

By Aleisha Paulick, Lamar High School, School Buzz Reporter | October 18, 2023

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Lamar teacher Sally Woolweaver received the 2023 Yale Educator Award after being nominated by a former student. (Photo: Bailey McAbee)

A triple threat located at Lamar? Sally Woolweaver, the computer science teacher, is one of 80 out of 385 nominees to receive the 2023 Yale Educator Award. The Yale Educator award is an award in which current Yale students can recognize a teacher that inspired them throughout their high school career.

Despite winning, Woolweaver just enjoys working and getting to do fun assignments with her students.

“I like the kids,” Woolweaver said. “Every day’s different, we get to be really creative and fun. Getting to do projects and coming up with cool things is a lot of freedom for me and the kids and it just makes every day so much more fun.”

Woolweaver has been teaching at Lamar for seven years and has bounced between several subjects.

“I taught AP world history and economics as I was in the process of getting my computer science certification,” Woolweaver said. “It's a class that I took when I was in high school, and I really enjoyed it.”

The main reason she chose to teach computer science is because of the freedom it gave.

“Getting to teach the kids all four years is exciting,” Woolweaver said. “We get to do so many cool projects, which I absolutely love; and also getting to make a curriculum that is entirely project-based, and not so focused on one big end of the year task.”

Prior to becoming a teacher, Woolweaver worked in marketing and advertising for five years, but left because it wasn’t as fulfilling.

“It was long hours and I wasn’t really enjoying it,” Woolweaver said. “I think another part of it was having a heart for teaching and wanting to mold the future generations.”

She is not only the computer science teacher, but also the sponsor for the Girls who Code club and the water polo coach.

“Girls who Code is a club that’s open to everyone since we don't have exclusive clubs at Lamar,” Woolweaver said. “However, it’s really promoting an area for the girls to bond and connect and have an area for them to work with each other and hold each other up.”

Woolweaver is overjoyed and appreciative to her former student, Franklin Wu, who nominated her for this award.

“I'm so excited and thankful, especially to Franklin, who nominated me,” Woolweaver said. “I didn't even know I was being nominated or won. I didn’t do anything besides teach him.”