Neenah teacher Andra Mory and student Kim Kemppainen were both honored with awards from the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation. Mory received a Teacher Fellowship Award, while Kemppainen was the recipient of an Excellence Scholarship.
Each Teacher Fellowship Award winner receives $3,000 individually and $3,000 for the school. The Excellence Scholarships are worth $5,000 each. In total, 100 teachers and 207 graduating high school seniors are being honored across the state. Mory and Kemppainen will receive their awards at a banquet at Waupun High School on April 23.
Mory began her teaching career in Neenah in 1988 following graduation from UW-Green Bay. Mory, who earned a Master’s Degree in Administration in 1993, spent 25 years teaching kindergarten through third grade at Tullar Elementary before working as a Kindergarten Interventionist at Taft Elementary in 2013-14. She moved into her current role as a math specialist at Lakeview Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary and Alliance Charter Elementary the following year. Among her accomplishments are developing a weekly math club for fourth and fifth grade students at Lakeview, creating a summer math backpack program, developing a math library of games to reinforce skills and leading book studies and professional development trainings for teachers.
Fellowship recipients are chosen for their superior ability to inspire a love of learning in their students, their ability to motivate others, and for their leadership and service within and outside the classroom.
Kemppainen carries a 3.83 grade point average while taking a full load of advanced classes. She is the president of student council and a member of Key Club and National Honor Society. Kemppainen also participates in debate and forensics, qualifying for state competition in both. She attended Badger Girls State last summer and is a member of the wind symphony. Kemppainen is the daughter of Philip and Paula Kemppainen and attended Clayton Elementary School.
Excellence Scholarship recipients have demonstrated excellence in the academic arena and high motivation to achieve, displayed a broad range of activity and leadership outside the academic setting and shown strong promise for succeeding in college and beyond.
The Kohl Foundation Scholarship and Fellowship program was established by retired U.S. Senator Herb Kohl in 1990. To date the foundation has awarded $11.5 million to Wisconsin educators, students and schools.
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