Betsy Stretch
Dr. Betsy Stretch brings decades of experience as an educator and researcher to her role as the CTE Urban Education Pathway leader at the MPS Tech Center.
Her extensive teaching career began in MPS as a middle school science teacher, continued as Bakken Teacher in Resident/Science TOSA, and finally as the STEM curriculum specialist before she went on to pursue her PhD. During her time at the University of Minnesota she continued her passion for STEM education by teaching high school STEM courses and was an adjunct professor teaching STEM literacy and education methods courses to future educators at multiple Universities throughout the Twin Cities and Wisconsin.
Most recently, Dr. Stretch was the High School Science Specialist at Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) and in partnership with multiple Universities and Industry partners was successful in receiving an almost $3million grant from the National Science Foundation to support leadership learning for SPPS science teachers. In her teaching roles, Dr. Stretch has excelled in integrating technology, culturally responsive pedagogy, and humor into education courses. This can be seen in every aspect of her career from incorporating students’ personal experiences in the curriculum to designing an equity-focused rubric for evaluating science curricula.
Her dissertation on the intersection of failure and creativity in STEM and learning has significantly influenced her mentoring approach, encouraging future educators to embrace mistakes, be creative, and model growth. Betsy is incredibly excited to be coming home to MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS where she hopes to inspire the next generation of innovative educators!
Dr. Stretch (Betsy) likes to do other things besides education and STEM. Admittedly, they intersect! She has 3 kids (1 – big kid and 2 (twin) toddlers). She and her partner, John, like to hike, camp, swim, and climb together. Betsy loves to read and hunt for agates. She would like to take up fly fishing.