VIDALIA &8212; It won&8217;t be official until the president himself hands over the plaque, but Dorothy Ulmer is a Presidential Award winner.

The Vidalia High School teacher will fly to Washington D.C. Sunday to prepare for a week of sessions, site seeing and important meals, including a breakfast with President Bush.

She is one of 100 teachers nationwide receiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science.

&8220;You are thrilled,&8221; she said. &8220;But there&8217;s some part of you that thinks &8216;Am I good enough for this?&8217;&8221;

And then the nerves kick in, she said.

Ulmer has entered the competition two previous times. She was named a Louisiana finalist &8212; one of three &8212; earlier this year.

The math teacher was judged on a video of a class period she submitted and her analysis of why she did things the way she did them.

In the video, students used the coordinates of the 2004 tsunami to graph the storm&8217;s center.

As a Presidential Award nominee &8212; she&8217;s not a winner until the president says so &8212; Ulmer will receive $10,000 for VHS to spend any way she wants.

Her plan is to spend the money on professional development for math and science teachers, including a workshop Texas Instruments offers.

Ulmer said she thinks it is important for teachers to understand the latest and greatest technology so they can incorporate it in the classroom.

&8220;Technology related things just open the door for children,&8221; she said.

Ulmer has been awarded several grants in past years that have purchased an array of technology that now lines her classroom.