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By Doug Erickson
Education reporter
A Madison middle school teacher who starts every class by saying "It's a wonderful day for math!" has joined an elite corps of "master teachers" who've completed a rigorous national certification process.
Robert Hetzel, 42, of O'Keeffe Middle School, is one of eight Wisconsin teachers to earn the certification this year from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Karla Mullen, a teacher of world studies and American studies at Watertown High School, also earned the designation.
Under an initiative in the state's just-approved biennial budget, they now are eligible for bonus pay from the state totalling $24,500 over the next 10 years.
"This is an indicator of the state's commitment to meeting high standards of teacher quality." |
"This is an indicator of the state's commitment to meeting high standards of teacher quality," said Will Gray, an education consultant with the state Department of Public Instruction.
There are now 10 master teachers in Wisconsin. They join 4,789 others in 48 states who've earned the honor. The nonprofit national board, based in Southfield, Mich., was founded in 1987 to increase standards in the teaching profession. The federal government partially funds its $35 million budget.
The teachers spend about a year submitting videotapes of their teaching, lesson plans and samples of student work and then take a content-knowledge test.
Twenty-three Wisconsin teachers began the process last year, and eight achieved the certification, Gray said.
"People who go through it say it's more demanding than earning a master's degree," he said.
Hetzel, who has taught 19 years, estimates he spent more than 100 hours putting together portfolios in six areas. He embarked on the process as a personal challenge and found it rewarding, he said.
"It gave me a chance to reflect on my teaching and to analyze it."
He said he was not aware of the 10-year cash bonus from the state until told about it by a reporter Tuesday.
Each teacher pays a $2,000 application fee to the board. In Hetzel's case, DPI provided $1,000 of it, and the Wisconsin Education Association Council another $500.
According to Gray, the Wisconsin master teachers now are eligible for a $2,000 stipend this year and a $2,500 stipend in each of the next nine years from the state of Wisconsin.
Hetzel, the 1998-99 Madison School District's Distinguished Service Award winner for middle school teachers, is considered a district leader in developing math curriculum.
Kids like him, too.
"He's never wrong at anything," said eighth-grade math student Ali Belakhdar.
'99 master teachers
Wisconsin's 1999 master teachers and their school districts: Robert Hetzel, Madison; Karla Mullen, Watertown; Maryanne Frawley, Amery; Linda Reetz, Berlin; Karla Jenkins, Osceola; Catherine Anderson, Osseo; Jayne Heffron, Shorewood; and Mary Carol Kellogg, West Bend.
They join Wisconsin's two previously certified teachers, Andrew Kuemmel of Edgerton and Laurine Karstens of Onalaska.
Posted November 30, 1999