Eight individuals have been recognized as the Neenah Joint School District’s Employees of the Year for the 2013-14 school year.
The group represents one individual from each of the District’s employment categories. They were selected from the 642 total employees of the Neenah Joint School District and were nominated by colleagues and administrators.
Four teachers were selected, including Kristine Martin from the elementary level, Mitchell Nonn from the middle school level, Tara Rockweit from the high school level and Jason Fridley from the special services area. Jonathan Joch was the Administrator of the Year, Mary Coons earned the Administrative Assistant of the Year, Maripat Franke was named Educational Assistant of the Year and Dawn Hill was the Maintenance/Operations Employee of the Year.
“This group is reflective of the outstanding overall staff we have in Neenah,” said Superintendent Dr. Mary Pfeiffer. “There are always so many great candidates for these awards and all of them are well-respected within their buildings. It’s easy to see that everyone nominated puts their students’ learning before any personal accolades.”
Martin, a first grade teacher at Wilson Elementary School in her 26th year, helped create a school garden club of 20 students that provides fresh vegetables from a backyard garden at Wilson. She also serves on the school’s Building Leadership Team, leads the school’s Student Success Committee and authors a quarterly newsletter on the successes at Wilson.
Nonn, a social studies teacher at Shattuck Middle School in his ninth year, worked closely with four colleagues this year, helping to guide two teachers new to Shattuck and two long term substitutes. He arranged early morning meetings throughout the year to help guide the teachers on content and activities.
Rockweit, an english teacher at Neenah High School in her 21st year, teaches Advanced Placement and advanced literature classes to sophomores and juniors. She also leads an Introduction to Educational Careers class.
Fridley, an emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) teacher at Horace Mann Middle School in his 18th year, continues to build strong relationships each year with his EBD students and also directs the middle school musical production, which had over 100 participants this year.
Joch, in his fourth year as the Director of Revenue Enhancement and seventh year overall in the District, has worked closely with numerous donors and scholarship programs. He has been integral in the formation of the Neenah Tomorrow Fund and heavily involved in many other District fundraising projects.
Coons, in her 21st year at Neenah High School, serves as Administrative Assistant to two administrators, the Student Assistance Program Coordinator and the school’s Police Liaison Officer. She also handles staff and student parking requests and numerous other duties.
Franke, in her 11th year at Hoover Elementary School, works closely with students with learning disabilities and all staff members. She played a key role in developing the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Day at Hoover in March.
Hill, in her 16th year with the District, was recognized for her positive attitude at Spring Road Elementary School. Hill regularly performs tasks on her own time to not disrupt classes and has a willingness to complete any request in a timely fashion.
The Employees of the Year will be honored at a social at the Bridgewood Conference Center on May 14 from 3:45-5 p.m. Chris Jones, a science teacher at Shattuck Middle School, will also be recognized at the social for his recent Kohl Foundation fellowship.
|