On May 23, 2019, Mrs. Dawn McCoart was awarded the Franklin D Kizer Distinguished Service Award at the Virginia Junior Academy of Sciences 78th Annual Meeting at Old Dominion University. This award recognizes the exceptional contributions to VJAS of a STEM teacher.
Mrs. McCoart is the W-L Science Department Chair, a National Board Certified Teacher in Biology and a Sponsor Teacher for VJAS for over 20 years. During that time she has helped (and sponsored) over 700 students on their independent science projects and encouraged them to enter the prestigious statewide competition. Many of these students have gone onto pursue STEM careers in large part to her efforts.