Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration has named Denise Swiatek, a teacher with the Science and Technology Magnet High School in New London, Educator of the Year. Swiatek was honored during the Aquarium’s annual Educators Open House on October 2.
The Educator of the Year is selected from a group of teachers nominated by the Aquarium’s education department.
“Educator of the Year award winners are teachers who advance the study of science education,” said Kelly Matis, vice president of education at Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration. “Their enthusiasm and dedication to the field, to their students and to their partnerships with the aquarium highlight them as leaders in our community. Denise exhibits all these qualities and more. She has worked with us in many capacities, from helping to pilot new educational programs with her students to participating in focus groups to assist us in developing programs for students and teachers.”Swiatek was awarded an engraved statue, monogrammed lab coat and autographed book by Dr. Robert Ballard, the deep-sea explorer famous for his discovery of the R.M.S. Titanic and president of the Institute for Exploration.“Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration has been a very supportive partner in education,” said Swiatek. “My involvement began in the 1980s, when my children were very young. We loved participating in the Aquarium’s early educational programs.”Swiatek has taught in the New London public school system for 11 years. She taught at New London High School for eight years before moving to the Science and Technology Magnet High School, where she designed the environmental science program and teaches AP biology and cell and molecular biology.She resides in Quaker Hill with her husband John and has three grown children, Benjamin, Lauren and Jennifer.