Meet Jeff Wheatcraft, Educational Consultant
The Wheatcraft Project Mission:
Empowering educators with tools to support engaging students in thoughtful discovery of the natural world, the impacts and changes humans have made and the creation of solutions to our toughest problems.
Jeff's Background:
After meeting his wife, Jeff moved from Phoenix, AZ to San Antonio, Texas in pursuit of opportunity and a better career. After bouncing from painter to car porter, dance instructor to photographer, Jeff landed his first teaching gig at Kirby Middle School instructing students in art.
When his job moved away from the campus he grew attached to, he transferred to the science department where he started unique programming, specifically a school motion picture group where students created science documentaries. Wanting to explore engagement deeper, he moved to Alamo Heights Junior School, where he developed the STEM Program, and 8th grade science class that tasks students with designing, fabricating and testing solutions to real-world problems, all aligned with the state standards.
His unique approach built capacity in students to develop a deeper sense of self-efficacy, while understanding soft skill content and their purpose in the classroom.
This cutting edge course garnered him multiple accolades, including the Trinity Prize for Teaching Excellence and being named the 2019 Texas Teacher of the Year. As Director of STEM Education Growth at the Science Mill, he has supported students growth specifically targeted at low-income, rural communities who have limited access to high quality STEM experiences.
Why am I the Captain?
I never wanted to be a CEO, I just wanted to make positive change and over the years I have been influenced by characters who I've considered role models for various reasons, making me a unique leader.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Strong in his ethics, but always open minded and wanting to learn. Captain Picard not only has strength of character, but his leadership abilities are top notch, not to mention that he has the ability to process a situation and calmly interpret and then make a decision that is best for all people involved.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds
A future Robin Hood, willing to to take risks to help others, these characteristics are invaluable to me and I commonly find my self worrying more about how I can help others than the negative impact that it has on my own well being.
"Mr. Wheatcraft's work provides access to university-level partnerships and research, innovative approaches to traditional science content, and authentic experiences using tools and methods used by practicing STEM professionals. Learning about his projects - from iron fertilization labs where students authentically study climate mechanisms to his innovative use of the classroom as a creative workshop - always leaves me inspired and makes me want to build more exciting learning experiences for my own students."
- Anna Sansone 2019 DODEA Teacher of the Year