2026 GOCSD Innovation Summit

Nathan Fleming started teaching high school science in 2000. Because he taught his first ten years at two small rural schools, he has learned the value of strong student relationships and gained experience teaching nearly every subject. In 2004, Fleming started an ongoing comprehensive ACT coaching program that helps students earn more financial aid and increase their acceptance rates.  Serendipitous funding allowed Fleming to completely outfit labs at both rural schools from the ground up, and this experience fostered a passion for creating professional classrooms that are welcoming and aesthetically pleasing. In 2010, Fleming transferred to West Plains High School and helped start their PLTW biomedical program in 2016.  Two years later, he partnered with Ozarks Healthcare to start the annual white coat ceremony in which students receive customized lab coats while being praised in front of friends and family. Thanks to continual presentations by Fleming and his students, West Plains High School enjoys full and even competitive rosters for all biomedical PLTW classes (MD, PBS, HBS, MI and BI). Using his professional photography background, Fleming started professional social media pages to further promote his classes, and this helped his classroom be chosen for the nation’s first live PLTW biomedical showcase in 2021. In 2022, Fleming was named a National Outstanding PLTW Biomedical Teacher and began consulting with Missouri S&T to help arrange their regional biomedical teacher conferences.  In 2024, Fleming was chosen to represent the PLTW biomedical program in a national showcase. Recently, Fleming has focused on creating fiercely independent student-run classroom environments in which students learn and acquire the soft skills that will help them succeed in a wide variety of careers.