I became a teacher to share my knowledge and learn from others.”
Andrew’s Story
Andrew Lee grew up in San Mateo, California, and attended University of California, Berkeley, where he received a BA in applied math, followed by a teaching credential in secondary math from San Francisco State University. Throughout high school and college he helped his peers understand difficult mathematical concepts, challenging himself to see math from different perspectives. “Overall there was not one moment that determined my path. It was more of an ongoing process that culminated in my becoming a math teacher.”
Andrew began his teaching career at a small project-based public charter school in Redwood City. As an educator, he constantly fights his students’ ‘I can’t do math’ mentality and focuses on teaching mathematical concepts by using real-world examples.
Andrew has participated in the Exploratorium Teacher Institute and attended teaching workshops to benefit his practice and school. He has used information from a KSTF-sponsored summer professional development course to create a statistical unit on voting where his students learned the basics of polling.
Andrew was named “Most Dedicated and Supportive” teacher by his school’s student body in 2006-2007. Outside of math, he supports Notre Dame de Namur High School’s music program by playing the violin in the school’s orchestra. In 2010, Andrew became the school’s mathematics department chair. During his time at Notre Dame, Andrew redeveloped the sequence of courses leading up to AP calculus and the course was once again offered in 2010.