A second Cranston High School West science teacher has been nominated for and won the NBC 10/Rhode Island Department of Education/Hasbro Golden Apple Award, which recognizes outstanding teachers for their dedication and expertise.

Steven Krous, the head of West’s science department, was surprised and overwhelmed on Nov. 17 when his classroom was descended upon by a TV crew, representatives from Hasbro, NBC 10 and RIDE, and his colleagues, all in the midst of a “Biology Jeopardy” game he was running for his students about metabolism.

Krous has been teaching for 25 years at West, and although he was trained in science, he had several other jobs before becoming a teacher, including working for an engineering firm as an ecology and fisheries expert and as a musician, playing the drums in a rock band. He didn’t become a teacher until he was in his mid-30s.

“His enthusiasm for science is contagious,” NBC 10’s Patrice Wood said in the video aired on Nov. 20.

Principal Tom Barbieri agrees.

“There are rigorous requirements put on teachers today, and when teachers attract these numbers of students, even as electives, as Steve does, that speaks volumes about them and about their teaching,” Barbieri said.

Krous is one of two Golden Apple winners in the science department at West, with teacher Holly Meyer having won the award as well.

For Krous, success is all about his students and making his science department the best it can be.

“If you want to keep kids in science, then you have to give kids what they want,” he said. “It’s not always just biology and chemistry. They need those foundations, but to keep them interested and to keep them competitive you also need to teach things like biotechnology. They need things to try out in order to possibly determine their majors in college.”

To that end, Krous has used his time as department head to continuously expand the department and the courses offered to students.

“I believe that we have the strongest science department in the state and an incredible department of educators. In my time as department head, I’ve developed biology II, an [Advanced Placement, or AP] course, ocean science, and an aquaculture course, now housed at the Cranston Area Career and Technical Center. The district has always been very supportive of new courses, and I approach them every so often. These types of courses are what feed students into college programs.”

Developing a variety of AP courses for the department has been a goal for Krous as well. Such courses allow students to take advanced coursework in high school, which counts for college credits if they pass an exam at the end.

“So far we have AP biology, AP chemistry and AP physics, and in the future I hope that we’ll have some environmental science also,” he said. “In order to expand our AP offerings, we need educators with degrees in the science disciplines being taught, or else educators with real, solid expertise in their content area – a master teacher in their discipline. A syllabus needs to be developed and run through an AP audit in order to be approved for the college level.”

Krous believes that a strong AP program is not only a positive for the department and the students, but for the school overall.

“Schools are evaluated on their AP course offerings,” he said. “Last year, our students all scored a three or above on the AP exams, and we’re hoping that even more kids will sign up for the AP classes.”

Krous said oftentimes students will take the AP courses and yet not go forward with taking the exam, and that many times it is a lack of confidence that holds them back. It’s just another thing on his list of things to do – fostering a greater sense of confidence in his science students.

Krous is known among his students for the fabulous life quotes, which he likes to pass along in addition to a knowledge of science.

“Never let a zero go into the grade book,” “Don’t trust your memory,” “Life is a series of tests,” “Time is a renewable resource” and “It’s OK not knowing, but it’s not OK to be happy not knowing” are just some of the pieces of advice that Krous is known for, and one year several of his students gave him a coffee mug with many of his famous quotes printed on it as a gift. Krous believes some of those students may have nominated him for the Golden Apple Award.

“I don’t have a clue who nominated me, but the Commissioner [of Education Deborah Gist] noted some of my ‘Krous Quotes’ when she was here, so I think it’s a period one biology II class that I had that may have been behind it,” he said.

The video clip that shows Krous receiving his award includes a quote from an anonymous student, stating why Krous is so deserving of his Golden Apple.

“He’s the most influential teacher I’ve ever had. He teaches students how to apply what they have learned to the realities of the world where we need knowledge most,” the student said.

As part of the award, Krous was given a $250 grant. He recently applied to use his grant toward helping his AP biology students learn more about a local decline in pollinators – a unit that will help students to study not only a scientific problem, but also help them explore possible solutions to that problem, which goes hand-in-hand with Krous’s applied biology approach.

“My background, prior to becoming a teacher, was in applied biology. I believe that science is best understood by my students when it focuses on finding solutions to real life problems,” he recently wrote. “As part of our study of ecological interactions and human impacts on plant and animal communities, I will include studies of honey bees and native pollinators, and the ecological services they provide.”