The quality of a school district can best be measured by the quality of its staff and Patricia Westphal is a key reason for Neenah becoming one of the finest.
A highly-regarded science teacher, Westphal taught in Neenah for 29 years and her impact upon students went far beyond the classroom.
A West Bend native, Westphal attended the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan for two years and completed a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1969. She spent two years teaching at Oostburg High School and two years at Sheboygan North High School before coming to Neenah in 1973.
Westphal earned a Master’s Degree at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and taught physics, chemistry and astronomy until her retirement in 2002. She was Neenah High School’s Teacher of the Year in 1981 and earned the lifetime achievement award from the Wisconsin Association of Physics
Teachers in 2004.
For 17 years, Westphal served as the advisor for the Academic Decathlon team, helping the team earn unprecedented success and several district championships. She also advised the National Honor Society and worked with the gifted and talented program.
Another of Westphal’s contributions to Neenah was the development of the trimester schedule that was used at Neenah High School from 1996-2011 and duplicated by many other school districts across the state. She was also the first to bring the modeling method of instruction to the Fox Valley.
She worked with the National Science Foundation Workshop and was nominated for the Presidential Award for Excellence in science and math. Westphal has been a mentor to many current Neenah teachers and former students. She also taught in the District as a substitute for several years after retirement.
Westphal and her husband, Duane, married in 1973 and still reside in Neenah.
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