Pritchard has been a science teacher at Washington Middle School since 1987. She is also an online instructor at the University of San Diego and President of the California Science Teachers Association. She was the Orange County Middle School Science Teacher of the Year in 2006; her honors also include the Toshiba Excellence in Science Education Award (1997) and Hughes Excellence in Math and Science Award (1995). She has received numerous classroom support grants from companies including Memorex, Northrup Grumman, Hughes Electronics, and BP. She holds a Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate School, an M.S. from CSU Fullerton, and a B.A. from UC Irvine. Pritchard is a National Board Certified Teacher in early adolescent science.