Hoquiam native Dacia Lackey recently received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Lackey, the daughter of George and MaDonna Renville, graduated from Hoquiam High School in 1991. She went on to earn an Associate of Arts from Grays Harbor College in 1993, then a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Washington State University in 1996. She has been a teacher for the past 21 years at Hyalite Elementary school in Bozeman, Montana.

The PAEMST is the highest honor a teacher can receive in the United States. The award is sponsored by the National Science Foundation on behalf of the White House.

“If there is just one thing that this award proves to me, it’s supporting my philosophy that all students can learn math,” said Lackey. “My future goals are to support all future mathematicians and their teachers in creating a culture of learning versus a culture of performing.”

Her parents still reside in Hoquiam, along with her two brothers, Gabe and Jerry Renville, and her sister, Denise Renville-Roberts, a teacher at St. Mary School in Aberdeen.