LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's been almost a decade since I last roamed the halls as a Clark High School Charger,
and—like a lot of other high school students–I didn't have the easiest time figuring out calculus.
That was until one teacher, Cassandra Arquette, helped it all add up.
Over the years, Arquette has had the seemingly impossible task of trying to make calculus click for many of her student—including me.
Her patience–and reminders to do my homework—helped me not only get a B in calculus but also a five on the AP Calculus test in my junior year of high school.
A miracle? Probably.
Ask any of Arquette's thousands of students over her more than 25-year career, though, and they'll say the same thing.
"She always brings energy to the class; she's a lot of fun," said one of Arquette's current algebra students, Clark sophomore Charlie O'Keefe.
Maybe it's her jokes: "I like to entertain, and I love math, so I put the two together, and we have a good time," Arquette said with a laugh.
Maybe it's the list of "Arquette-isms" that line her classroom.
Or maybe it's the fact that she's been in her students' shoes.
"I was not the best math student in high school, so I totally understand their position," Arquette said. "So, that's how I teach. I teach for that understanding that I didn't have."
"The class itself is difficult, but Ms. Arquette makes it so we can always have opportunities to ask her questions," her student O'Keefe said.
That dedication to her students has been recognized on the biggest scale possible.
"This is the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching," Arquette said. "They award it to only two people per state per year, so to think that I was the only [math teacher] in the state to get that award for 2021, that's a huge honor."
She's one of around 300 teachers nationwide—and just six here in Nevada—to be honored by former President Joe Biden over the course of his administration for their excellence in the classroom.
"My parents are both retired teachers, so for them to see how hard I've worked for this and for them to see how far I've come, that is what means so much to me," Arquette said.
Each of the award winners gets a $10,000 dollar prize and a trip to Washington, D.C. Arquette says she plans on using it to spend some time with her family, who she says have been beyond supportive of her career over the years.
Arquette shared the honor with her students: "I credit a lot of my success to being here at Clark, they push me as much as I push them."
When asked if she feels like she's made an impact, "I feel it, I really do," Arquette said with a smile.
That's what keeps Cassandra Arquette going.
"New students, new challenges, new rewards," she said. "I just try to keep every year new and fresh."
