2008-09 First Class Members

Kyle Teeselink was honored as Iowa's first Teacher of the Year for the Troops-to-Teachers Program. Teeselink is a first-year business instructor at Manson Northwest Webster High School where he teaches ninth- through twelfth-graders. After retiring from 22 years in the Air Force in 2006, Teeselink decided to pursue a second career in education because the service aspect of teaching appealed to him. The Troops-to-Teachers program provided financial assistance to help him obtain an Iowa teaching certificate. The program is a joint effort between the United States Department of Education and the Department of Defense.

Lorene Rexwinkel, Middle School Family and Consumer Sciences teacher in LeMars, was recently named the Iowa Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher of the Year. The award is based on teaching record, professional involvement, and community leadership.

Carolyn Armento, a special education teacher at Richardson Elementary in Fort Madison earned the title of 2009 Teacher of the Year in a competition sponsored by The Hawk Eye and Pzazz Event and Convention Center. She was chosen from more than 135 teachers nominated from 13 public and private school systems in southeast Iowa and west-central Illinois.

Four Council Bluffs teachers were 2009 winners of the H.H. "Red" and Ruth H. Nelson Family Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award. The teachers chosen were: Christy Boldt, a Talented and Gifted Student Strategist at Longfellow, Pusey, and Washington; Terry Hanzlik, the band director from Abraham Lincoln; Barbara Schmid, a first-grade teacher from Longfellow; and Joann Tews, a sixth-grade teacher from Walnut Grove. The honorees each received $5,000, a commemorative trophy, and $250 in Burger King gift certificates.

Sue Meggers led her team of four eighth graders from Interstate 35 Community School in Truro, Iowa, to win the second-place award in this year's national eCYBERMISSION competition. Each team member receives a $3,000 U.S. EE Savings Bond and a certificate of recognition from the U.S. Army. Her team was recognized by judges for researching the effects of household cleaning products on the environment.

Dennis Fett, a 5th-grade music teacher at Boyer Valley Community Schools in Dows, Iowa, performed his Wacky Disappearing Clarinet act on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. You can see a recreation of his act on YouTube.com at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0S6cfrivyA

Cary Shapiro, language arts instructor and drama director at Ankeny High School, has been named a National Finalist by the American High School Theatre Festival. He is invited to bring the Ankeny High School Drama Department to perform in the 2010 Edinburgh, Scotland, Fringe Festival, the largest performing arts festival in the world.

Hector Ibarra, from West Branch, Iowa,  was one of three Teaching Ambassador Fellows selected by the  U.S. Department of Education for Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska). Fellows are selected based upon their record of leadership, impact on student achievement, and potential for contributions to the field.

Mary Siepker, a Lawton-Bronson first-grade teacher, was awarded an $800 Target Field Trip grant from more than 25,000 applicants across the country. The grant will be used to take 120 first-third graders to the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City to watch a performance of The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley. Each student also will receive two Flat Stanley books, thanks to the grant. Siepker first heard of the Target Field Trip grant while attending the NEA RA in Philadelphia. Teachers can apply at Target.com/teachers.

Susan Burkhart and Mary Edwards received the 2009 NEA's Books Across America Library Award. One of only 50 awards, it provides $1,000 to bring the gift of reading to economically disadvantaged public school students.

Business instructor Tracy Weber, a member of the Bellevue Education Association, was named Outstanding Business Educator, part of the Iowa BEST Award, at the Iowa Business Education Association Convention in Des Moines.

Osage elementary art teacher Cyndi Spears was named Elementary Art Teacher of the Year by the Art Educators of Iowa. She teaches nearly 500 students in the K-6 art program. Second semester she also teaches a class at the high school.

Christine Noel has been named Outstanding Art Educator of the Year for 2008 by Art Educators of Iowa. Noel is the only person to win this award twice. She teaches art at Newton High School in Newton, Iowa. She was also recognized as an outstanding visual arts educator by the University of Iowa's Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development. Noel has been an art teacher for three decades.

Glenda Jensen, a fourth-grade teacher at Moulton-Udell Schools, was presented Wal-Mart's "Teacher of the Year" award in September. She is in her 31st year of teaching. As part of the award, she received a $100 gift card and the Moulton-Udell schools received a $1,000 check from Wal-Mart.

Wendeline Miller, a fourth-grade instructor at Chantry Elementary School in Malvern and Jeff Schoening, a 5th - 12th-grade instrumental music instructor in the Treynor School District, were the first two recipients of the Charles E. Lakin Outstanding Teacher Award. Miller and Schoenig each received $10,000, while their schools each received $2,500. In addition, McDonald's donated 150 certificates to the students of the winning teachers. The award was sponsored by KMA Radio, Charles and Chuck Lakin, and the Loess Hills Area Education Agency 13. The purpose of the award is to honor teachers who entice students to come to school every day.

Shenandoah members Molly Blackburn, Connie McGuiness, Merrilee Vavra, Toni Graham, and Anita Baker were all named Friends of Education for 2008 by the Shenandoah School District.

Judith Burgin, a Spanish teacher at Central Lee High School in Donnellson, was awarded WGEM's 2008 Golden Apple Award for teaching excellence. Burgin was one of five Golden Apple Award winners in the tri-state area. She was nominated and supported for this award by students, colleagues, and parents. Judy has been very active in her local CLEA for 38 years including many years as grievance chair and also as one of the first negotiators for CLEA in the 1970s. She retired from Central Lee at the end of 2008 after 41 years in education.

Harding Middle School Teacher Mark Schnurstein was one of nearly 40 educators who took part in NASA's "Building Partnerships for Sustainability" workshop. Participants from across the country traveled to NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, to learn about the latest NASA projects; tour NASA facilities; and attend seminars taught by NASA researchers, engineers, and technicians. The workshops were hosted by NASA Langley as part of the NASA Explorer Schools program. Through this program, NASA establishes three-year partnerships with schools across the nation. The goal of the program is to improve teaching and student learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. After completing the workshop, teachers can forge ahead into the new school year ready to integrate NASA content and hands-on activities into their everyday lessons. To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools program, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Michael Blair, an Advanced Physics teacher from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, spent three weeks in June attending the Fulbright Teacher Spring Seminar 2008 for American Teachers to Germany. The Fulbright Commission in Berlin sponsored the program. Blair was selected from over 250 applicants, along with 20 other teachers from around the United States. They spent two weeks observing German schools and attending seminars on their educational system. The third week was spent visiting schools in various parts of Germany in hopes of forming an exchange.

Des Moines Roosevelt ninth-grade English teacher Emily Bollinger learned new techniques at the Freedom Writers Institute to help her students. The Freedom Writers method aims to increase students' interest in school and, in turn, help decrease high school dropout rates. After attending the institute Bollinger said she is going to have her students write several times a week, "to give kids a voice, to empower them, to listen to them, and to validate their knowledge and experiences."  For more information go to www.freedomwritersfoundation.org.