April Bartnick

April Bartnick is a special education teacher with 18 years of experience; she is passionate about hands-on science and interdisciplinary learning, especially art integration with science. April strives to teach students real-world, creative problem-solving skills and positively influence lives through environmental sustainability and stewardship education. She believes volunteerism through environmental action civics is a way to model integrity, accountability, and commitment to her students. In 2023, April completed a Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship with River Region Sustainability at Southern Illinois University Carbondale where she received a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Sustainability.  April also co-leads a non-profit that promotes excellence in education through community engagement and raises funds for a regranting program for science teachers. Some of April’s accomplishments include being selected by the Smithsonian Science Education Center to mentor a school through Zero Barriers in STEM Education and being featured on patch.com as one of the “10 Illinois Community Leaders Everyone Should Know About.” Overall, April is a leader in her school and district where she has developed novel approaches to teaching and learning which she has disseminated via multiple presentations at national, state, and regional conferences.