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In the Spotlight - staff, schools and students
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Staff members Joe Nigh, Maria Covarrubias, Jane Koval, Barbara Perkins, Victoria Straughn, Rebecca Zutter-Brose, Brenda Blessing and Renee Bremer, and former staff member John Olson have been recognized recently for their outstanding work. Plus, O'Keeffe and Spring Harbor are recognized, as are 2 students who scored 36's on the ACT. Six of the 13 teachers given awards at the UW-Madison School of Education Awards program recently are MMSD staff members. Receiving the Rockwell Distinguished Education Awards are Jane Koval, physical education teacher at Van Hise; Barbara Perkins & Rebecca Zutter-Brose, phonologists at Muir; and Victoria Straughn, social studies teacher at La Follette. This award for cooperating personnel recognizes excellent teachers who have chosen to pass on their expertise by providing professional experiences for UW-Madison student teachers. Maria Del Rosario Covarrubias is the only recipient of this year's Nemec Distinguished Elementary Education Award. Maria, a 6th grade teacher at Jefferson, is recognized for her "commitment and distinguished service as a classroom teacher" as well as her "outstanding skills and commitment to her local educational community." Receiving recognition as an outstanding cooperating teacher is Brenda Blessing, a 4/5 teacher at Chavez. For information about nominating a cooperating teacher for next year's Rockwell Awards — deadline is September 12 — click here. Joe Nigh, ESL counselor at East, received the prestigious Sanchez Award from Centro Hispano at their annual banquet in November. The Sanchez Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a long-standing commitment to promoting the academic achievement of Latino students. The nomination for Joe said he "spent thousands of hours tutoring and providing recreational programs afternoons, evenings and weekends for Latinos and other English Language Learners." Renee Bremer, Transportation Manager, has been certified as a Director of Pupil Transportation by the National Association for Pupil Transportation. This professional certification is the highest of four types offered and, according to the notification letter, Renee is the first person in Wisconsin to achieve this status and the 111th overall. Madison students are two of the eight in Wisconsin who achieved a 36, the highest possible composite score, on the June 2007 national test administration of the ACT. Dan Greenwald and Brian Ji, both from Memorial, are among the eight --out of about 22,000 Wisconsin students who completed the exam on June 9 — to reach the highest possible score. The ACT says students scoring a 36 on the test broken into English, math, reading and science segments "should have a choice of the widest possible range of future educational options." O'Keeffe and Spring Harbor Middle Schools are Exemplary Middle Schools in the Association of Wisconsin School Administrator's new Wisconsin Middle School of Excellence Award program. There are 90 schools so honored based on ratings on: collaborative leadership and professional learning communities; personalization and the school environment; and curriculum, instruction and assessment. Former and longtime MMSD staff member John Olson is the first recipient of the Kovaleski Professional Development Award presented by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. The Kovaleski Award is presented each year to an NIAAA member who possesses and has contributed to the vision of professional development and who has made significant contributions and demonstrated excellence in professional development at the local, state and national levels. Among many professional development initiatives, John is the chief writer and editor of "Athletic Administrators Reference Manual," a comprehensive resource book of the best practices and state-of-the-art professional methods and strategies for athletic administrators. Return to MMSD Today |
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