On May 4th (yes, Star Wars Day!), due to what I can only assume was a clerical error on someone’s part, I was named on of this years five Wisconsin Teachers of the Year!
Joking aside, this is really a great honor, and I think less about what I’ve done as a teacher (although I do work awfully hard to give my students the best education possible) and more of a tribute to the fantastic things going on in both the Wauwatosa School District, where I’ve worked since 2007, and in the Sheboygan Area School District, where I worked for 10 years before that, and all the amazingly talented people I’ve had the honor, privilege, and pleasure of working with since 1996.
For those of you wondering how something like this comes about, in Wisconsin the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation grants around 100 fellowships to educators each year to recognize excellence in education. To get one of these fellowships, first you need to be nominated by a student, parent, or fellow educator. In my case, it was a student (Thanks, Cam! I owe you big time!). Once nominated, you need to get three letters of recommendation, provide a pretty thorough CV, and write answers to six essay questions about your educational philosophy, instructional practices, views on the current state of public education, etc. Applications are then reviewed by first a regional panel and then those that make the cut are sent along to the state-wide panel who in the end decide who is granted a Kohl Fellowship. Everyone receiving a Kohl Fellowship is then automatically put into the running for Wisconsin Teacher of the Year, and five teachers who represent elementary, middle, and high schools as well as support services are chosen to be that year’s Teachers of the Year, and I was fortunate enough to be one of this year’s five. For a little more information about why they chose me of all people, here’s the announcement from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and a few other media links (including video of me being honestly surprised by the news, which is why I’m wearing a t-shirt while being honored):
Wauwatosa School District Post with Video of Announcement
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Story
Tosa Forward News (Easily the best, most thorough coverage, but you need to sign up for a free account to read the full article)
And don’t worry, I’m still writing! More news on that front to come!
Jon Etter 