| From the Department of Public Instruction "Innovative, hard working, dedicated, inspired, creative.
These are among the words of praise used to describe the four
educators named to the 2005-06 Teacher of the Year program,"
said State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster.
"These educators exemplify the many fine teachers who work
with young people every school day, contributing countless hours
both inside and outside the classroom to our students' academic
and social development," Burmaster added.
The teachers, also recipients of Herb Kohl Educational Foundation
Teacher Fellowships in spring 2005, are
- Mary Feldt of Almond, elementary physical education teacher
at the Waupaca Learning Center.
- Edith Krueger, social studies and language arts teacher at
Stanley-Boyd Middle School.
- Linda Gabby, English teacher at Wauwatosa East High School.
- Anne Reece, special education teacher at Converse Elementary
School in Beloit.
A panel of educators, parents, and community leaders selected
the four from a pool of 86 Kohl Teacher Fellows. Teachers of the
Year are selected for their ability to inspire students' love
of learning, instructional innovation and leadership, and commitment
to community involvement. Later this month, the same committee
will choose one Teacher of the Year to represent Wisconsin in
the National Teacher of the Year program.
Elementary Teacher of the Year Mary Feldt
"I love my job. I live my job," Feldt said of her methods
for inspiring students' learning. "It is my commitment as
a physical education teacher to prepare students for their future."
Noting that far too many adults suffered embarrassment and failure
in physical education classes, she says she strives "to instill
in my students the enjoyment of movement and play."
Feldt takes physical education beyond traditional team sports
to offer lots of opportunities for lifetime activities and cooperative
games with "participation taking precedence over competition."
She says, "I often tell my students that 20 years from now
they aren't likely to run into 25 of their friends and start a
game of dodge ball. However, they may enjoy walking, dancing,
a round of golf, or another physical activity." Thus, Feldt teaches outdoor education skills, including cross
country skiing, snow shoeing, curling, walking, and hiking among
activities in her classes. A recently developed Enviro-Camp took
students and parents camping in a nearby state park to combine
environmental education and physical activity in a "meaningful
and fun outdoor experience." A student's comment about the fun of using a wheelchair turned
into lessons exposing students to the many daily activities they
take for granted. Feldt's Wheelchair Obstacle course was among
lessons she had accepted for publication on the PECentral Web
site.
Practicing what she preaches, Feldt's students will see her join
them in class, walk during her lunch break, kayak at a state park,
or participate in a local sporting event. "The success of a physically educated person is not necessarily
determined by a test or an isolated athletic performance,"
Feldt said. "That success, or lack of it, may not be evident
for years. My goal in preparing students is that they will pursue
some type of physical activity for personal fitness and enjoyment
in their future."
Feldt is an active community volunteer, who took the Movin' Schools
campaign to Waupaca's Movin' Community program. She also has been
involved in youth sports, Cub Scouts, community food drives, roadside
clean-ups, Bread Basket, the school district's wellness committee,
and the Waupaca County Nutrition and Activity coalition.
She holds a bachelor's degree in wellness and health promotions
and a master's degree in physical education from the University
of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Middle School Teacher of the Year Edith Krueger
Describing her own education in a one-room school, under the
guidance of her teacher Mrs. Siverhus, as what most influenced
her thoughts on education and teaching and determined her career
choice, Krueger said, "I wanted to be able to impact children
the way she had impacted so many of her students." From the genuine concern and caring, to the encouragement tailored
to each individual, to her ability to inspire parents to be a
vital part of the school community, Krueger's childhood teacher's
lessons are in the forefront of how Krueger approaches teaching.
"Regardless of age, a child's curiosity and willingness to
learn is best fostered in a safe and nurturing environment,"
she said.
Krueger makes connections with her middle school charges in various
ways and says the times she has served as a mentor for students
who sought her out as an ear for their problems, a mediator for
their relationships, or a tutor for classes that were a struggle
have been the most rewarding of her career. Krueger treats her students as individuals and challenges them
to set goals and work toward them. One parent remarked that her
child became a scholar during his time in Krueger's classroom,
gaining two and a half years on a standardized reading test and
amazing his parents with the academic standards he had set for
himself. "I see my boy works so hard for this lady, I'd work
hard for her too," the parent said after her first parent-teacher
conference.
Because she works in a small rural community, Krueger strives
to bring the world into the classroom. Stanley-Boyd has been host
to Japanese and Korean visiting teachers, and Krueger's trip to
Italy provided firsthand lessons on Rome, the Renaissance, and
Italian culture. A former student, recalled the experience of learning to write,
speak, sing, and read in Japanese as one of many experiences in
Krueger's classroom that made her classes his favorite hours of
the day. Cody Schuebel said that Krueger made sure her students
not only understood the lesson but enjoyed it too.
Krueger holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University
of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She began her career as a special education
teacher at Stanley Elementary School and started teaching middle
school in 2000. High School Teacher of the Year Linda Gabby
The goals that fuel her work others might call challenges. Gabby
looks at the students who come to high school already disengaged,
have a long history of failing or underachievement, abuse alcohol
and drugs, or struggle with life issues teens shouldn't have to
face, along with those who are voracious readers and prolific
writers, and thinkers who have other issues that block their potential
and sees her passion "to love her students through their
pain and heartache and support them in their learning."
Gabby's route to becoming an English teacher started at Spring
Hill College in Mobile, Ala., where she student taught at a rural
high school. She detoured to graduate school followed by stints
as a teacher of severely disabled middle school readers, administrator
of an elementary reading program,
work as a reading specialist, and instructor in the department
of reading and language arts at Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee.
"I did all of this - only to realize that what I really
wanted to do was teach English," she said. Programs Gabby has developed throughout her career have sprung
from problems she saw that needed to be addressed. During her
first years of teaching remedial reading, Gabby discovered that
her students didn't own a single book. She sponsored book fairs
to purchase trade books for her students to have as their own.
Through her efforts, Wauwatosa East now has an accelerated English
class for exceptionally bright 9th-graders. She helped create
a Homework Club after school to provide immediate assistance for
students who have missed assignments. She also has pioneered standards-based
grading in her classroom. Gabby is the coordinator for the school's
National Mix It Up at Lunch Day, which encourages students to
develop tolerance and acceptance of others by dining with students
outside of their usual social group.
A parent of a high school student with learning disabilities
praised Gabby's efforts to develop strategies and structure that
allowed her son's confidence and appreciation of reading to blossom.
The parent thanked Gabby for validating her son's "potential
and teaching to his strengths to improve his reading and writing,
allowing him to move closer to realizing his dreams, and not letting
the LD part of who he is determine what he can achieve and become."
Gabby calls service a core value in her life. She is the adviser
for the school's Amnesty International Chapter, which has sponsored
petitions, letter writing campaigns, and an annual benefit concert
with proceeds donated to various charitable organizations. She
also initiated a monthly Mother's Kitchen project that serves
chili and salad to the homeless and coordinates the annual Christmas
party for mentally ill adults at Plymouth Manor.
In addition to her bachelor's degree from Spring Hill College,
Gabby holds a master's degree from the University of Illinois-Champaign
Urbana. Special Services Teacher of the Year Anne Reece
Reece uses various learning tools and consults with regular education
teachers daily to help her instill a love of learning in students. "Many of the students that I work with have had a history
of academic failure," she said. "Rather than pretend
I am not aware of this, I tell them that it is my job to help
them find the way(s) that they learn best."
Her efforts to help students succeed have led to technology,
using computers and special software to make learning fun. A word
predication program used in conjunction with a talking word processor
and customized activities have helped her students improve their
spelling and writing skills. Independent reading skills get structure
through books and tapes that break the 40-minute task into smaller,
more manageable pieces, and are accompanied by charts that show
visual progress toward the reading goal. To support students' organizational skills, Reece develops a
personalized schedule that helps students learn to read schedules,
gives them responsibility to do what the schedule says, and provides
opportunities to ask for assistance from a peer or an adult.
Parents of one of Reece's students spoke of the pride they felt
at their child's last conference before moving to 7th grade. Their
son had started life in Wisconsin very far behind his peers and
ended 6th grade with primarily A and B grades. "Best of all,
he was doing regular 6th-grade work that was not being modified,"
they said.
Reece is active in schoolwide activities for Veterans Day and
Woman's History Month as well as the "Wall of Honor,"
which display's student work in the entryway of the school and
has received much parent and community attention. "No child should ever feel left out," she said of
the wall. "Every child should be involved in the school community.
Each student in the school contributes a little piece to a beautiful
display that everyone is proud of."
Prior to joining the Beloit School District, Reese taught in
the Albany School District. She holds a bachelor's degree from
the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a master's degree from
National-Louis University.
Posted September 13, 2005 |