Paul Ritter can be described as a visionary teacher. His passion for teaching is shown everyday in the classroom and in the community.

The following is a list of some of his professional development for the last 10 years with Pontiac Township High School.

• 1998 to Present Grant for AWS weather station implementation for hands on weather project

• 1999 to 2007 Implementation of the Storm Sewer Stencil Project with Ecology and 8th grade students

• 1999 to 2005 Implementation of the student developed and designed Ecology class Water Cycle Coloring Book for second grade students

• 2000 to 2003 Near and Far Sciences in Illinois, a Scientific Literacy Professional Leadership project for teachers in the Earth and Space Sciences. NFSI is funded through the Scientific Literacy program of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) as a state leadership activity. NFSI was designed to support the teaching and learning of Earth and Space Sciences to meet the goals of the Illinois Learning Standards.

• 2000 Technological Enhancements Connections & Investigations, an Illinois State Board Of Education and SIUE initiative.

• 2000 Masters of Science in Secondary Science Education

• 2001 American Meteorological Society Data Streme Project, a major pre-college teacher enhancement initiative of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Its main goal is the training of Weather Education Resource Teachers who will promote the teaching of science, mathematics, technology and Illinois State Learning Standards using the weather as a vehicle, across the K-12 curriculum in their home school districts.

• 2001 to Present Implementation of the PTHS Ecology Billboard Project for student to public environmental awareness

• 2002 to Present Interdisciplinary Forensic Science integration project with General Science, and the Law Enforcement 1, Law Enforcement 2 classes

• 2002 to Present Interdisciplinary rocket integration lab with the General Science, Small Gas Engines, and Introduction to Tech Transportation Classes

• 2003 How to Reach Students in the Classroom Workshop

• 2004 and 2005 Forensic Science Techniques conference

• 2004 Presenter at the Connections Conference on Forensic Science integration in the classroom

• 2004 Interdisciplinary Marine Aquaculture Project with Ecology, Math, Welding, Drafting, and General Science

• 2004 to Present Implementation of the Ecology class Crayon Recycling Program for area grade school students

• 2005 Tech Prep Committee, Curriculum Advisory Committee, and Character Counts Committee member

• 2005 Technologically Oriented Teachers Initiative, an Illinois State Board Of Education and SIUE initiative for integration of technology in the classroom

• 2005 Adventure of the American Mind Conference, a Library of Congress and ISU initiative for integration of information from the Library of Congress into the classroom

• 2005 to 2006 Cooperative with Ecology students and the Livingston County Land Fill (2nd largest landfill in nation) to develop new signs and regulations for inbound refuse trucks

• 2006 to Present Pontiac Township High School Ecology Class Butterfly Project a cooperative with the University of Illinois to teach the life cycle of butterflies through hands-on learning to area second grade students

• 2006 to Present Implementation of the Ecology class Cell Phone Recycling Program for the citizens of Livingston County

• 2007 PTHS Resource Conservation Program to reduce household energy consumption, a cooperative with the Ecology classes, ComEd Energy, Nicor Gas, Delta Faucet, Honeywell Automated Control Systems, Livingston County, City of Pontiac, The Daily Leader News, The Pantagraph News, and Illinois State Senator Dan Rutherford

• 2007 Interdisciplinary Bio-diesel Production Project with the Automotive and Agriculture classes, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Waste Management Research Center

• 2007 Pontiac Prescription Drug Disposal Program to reduce unwanted or unused pharmaceuticals from entering into our water supply, a cooperative with Ecology classes, Illinois Studies classes, Walgreens, Sartoris Drugs, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Illinois American Water, the City of Pontiac Street Dept., the City of Pontiac Waste Water Treatment Plant, and the Mayor of the City of Pontiac.

• 2007 Runner-up Teacher of the Year, Illinois State Board of Education.