Groton ― When Molly Condron, a seventh-grade science teacher at Groton Middle School, was in college studying environmental science, she worked one summer as a camp counselor at an environmental education center.

She said she felt happiest around kids and enjoyed showing them cool aspects of nature and missed the kids once she returned to school.

Condron said she realized then that maybe working in an environmental lab or out in the field wasn’t for her ― and teaching science to kids was her calling. Condron went on to obtain her master’s degree in teaching and began teaching for Groton Public Schools in 2018.

Condron recently was named Groton’s teacher of the year.

“I want kids to notice that science is all around us, and it can be accessible to everyone,” she said.

She said that message is especially important for English language learning, female, and minority background students, who may not see themselves in science careers and historically have had lower science test scores and grades.

She said she likes to model her classroom on engaging experiences that are rigorous enough to challenge kids, but not scare them away from the field of science.

She likes to do hands-on labs and use materials kids have at home, such as mixing cornstarch and water to make a type of goo, so kids can go home and show their siblings the cool experiment they did in science class. She also incorporates different ways of teaching, such as hands-on activities for kinesthetic learners, lectures for auditory learners, and diagrams and video for visual learners.

Condron started teaching at the former West Side Middle School and then moved to Groton Middle School when it opened.

Condron coaches Fitch High School girls swimming and also is a coach and a board member for Girls on the Run of Southeastern Connecticut, a program focused on empowering girls through the lens of physical fitness.

Condron’s colleague, Allyson Manzur, a teacher at Groton Middle School, wrote in her letter nominating Condron for teacher of the year that Condron’s positivity and passion for teaching bring others to her level. Manzur said she always learns from Condron.

“Not only does she provide a positive classroom environment, Molly fosters a level of rigor that provides students with the best learning possible,” Manzur wrote.

On the bulletin board above her desk, Condron keeps drawings and notes from students and former students who update her on their lives and tell her how much her class meant to them. She said she is proudest of these notes, because sometimes she forgets in the day-to-day grind, that she is having a positive impact.

Condron said she hopes students find joy in her classroom, whether or not science is their favorite subject.

She said it can be challenging for kids at this age, who are going through a lot of hormonal changes and are trying to figure out their social life, and she wants the kids to enjoy school and learning.

“I want them to feel safe and comfortable and be able to be who they are in my room,” she said.

k.drelich@theday.com