NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – It's one of the most important and impactful jobs. "It's the students for me that keep me in education," said Tara Palomares, a geometry and AP calculus teacher at Sandia High School. Now, five New Mexico STEM teachers are getting an 'A+' for their work. "It's the highest honor you can get as a STEM teacher. That's it. There's nothing else," said Chris Speck, a science teacher at Madison Middle School. Story continues below Community: Bill aims to encourage schools to ban phones from the classroom in NM Don't Miss: APD helicopter video shows officers chasing suspect who tried to hide in a bush Weird: Video shows Santa Fe man accused of spending the night inside a Walmart Speck and Palomares are just two of the five New Mexico teachers, among more than 300 nationwide, getting the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The other winners include Albuquerque Public Schools teachers Kimberly Conell and Lesha Rupert and Española Public Schools teacher Heather Harrell. "It's really, really humbling," said Speck. "The resume on every single one of these people is absolutely stacked. This is who you want in your schools." "I feel like it's a celebration of all the people who have helped me get here. I'm excited to be able to share that with them as well," said Palomares. The award looks for the ability to get students engaged and what the teachers do outside of the classroom to help education inside the classroom. "I try to do as much learning as possible so I can take what's happening in the labs back to the classroom as much as possible to give them a real life understanding of this is what a scientist does," said Speck. "If I can get a student who is completely disinterested, completely checked out, to say to themselves 'you know what today was ok. I'll work with that.' That's a good starting point." The national recognition shines a positive spotlight on education in New Mexico. "It encourages math and science education in our state and other teachers, other students, and other families to see that positive things are happening across New Mexico," said Palomares. The recognition includes a trip to D.C. and a cash prize for each winner. To learn more about the winners from New Mexico, click here. “Congratulations to the awardees and thank you for the high-quality STEM instruction you bring to your classrooms,” said Mariana D. Padilla, Public Education Secretary-Designate. “Our students thrive when they learn from educators who are passionate and well-versed in content knowledge.”