Sarah Bax was committed to serving urban communities from early in her career. Upon graduating with an urban studies degree, Ms. Bax joined DCPS 19 years ago as a Teach For America corps member, and she has spent the last 13 years as a mathematics teacher at Hardy Middle School.

Ms. Bax’s students thrive in her classroom, which she describes as “an ever-evolving mix of urgency and conceptual creativity, with a consistent inclusion of good ole’ fashioned fun.” She relishes the moments when her students “discover their inner mathematician” and “experience the glory of being thirteen—that who they are is hardly finished and already amazing.” Despite the time she commits to her students, Ms. Bax has taken on numerous other leadership roles, including serving on the Chancellor’s Teachers’ Cabinet, as a Master Teacher in the Math for America DC program, and as the math department chair at Hardy. She excels at these other roles, but teaching is her true passion. She loves that “every day is an awesome adventure—there is joy in every step.”