The Idaho State Department of Education has named Katie Pemberton, an adjunct education instructor at Lewis-Clark State College - Coeur d'Alene, the 2013 Idaho State Teacher of the Year.

Pemberton teaches mathematics at Canfield Middle School in Coeur d’Alene. In the summer months she is part of the LCSC Pathways for Accelerated Certification and Endorsement (PACE) program at the LCSC Coeur d’Alene Center.

The Idaho State Teacher of the Year program started in 1959 and is considered one of the most prestigious honors for Idaho teachers. As Idaho Teacher of the Year, Pemberton becomes Idaho’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year. She received a $1,000 check from the Idaho State Department of Education, along with an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. where she will have the opportunity to meet President Barack Obama. She will also attend Space Camp in Alabama.

“I am so excited about it,” Pemberton said. “I will have the opportunity to meet all of the other state Teachers of the Year and collaborate with them. I can bring back new ideas to Idaho and share what we do here throughout the nation.”

The two-year PACE program Pemberton works with at LCSC is different from traditional education programs because the courses during the fall and spring semesters are delivered online. Then, during the summer, students are put through a rigorous classroom teaching experience.

In May 2012, Pemberton was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science, one of only 97 teachers nationwide to receive the award.