Updated: 13 April 2008
2008 Secondary Teacher of the Year: Valerie Elzinga, Valkers High School, Valders, WI. Valerie has been teaching in Valders for the past 11 years. She teaches World History, U.S. History, and Psychology. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from Lakeland College and a Master's Degree from UW-Milwaukee. A resident of Howards Grove, she was born and raised in France and lived there for 20 years before coming to the United States. She has also lived in the African countries of Malawi and Tunisia. Her interest in other cultures has played an important part in her teaching. Valerie is married to Jeff and they have three children, Eliot, Celine, and Paul.
2008 Middle School Teacher of the Year: John M. Wuebben, Einstein Middle School, Appleton, WI. John is a Sun Prairie native who currently teaches 8th grade U.S. History at Einstein Middle School and serves as Curriculum Support Specialist for the Appleton Area School District. Prior to his 22 years in Appleton, he taught at Janesville Parker High School and Spooner High School. He has education degrees from UW-Madison and UW-Oshkosh. During his career, he has worked on various state-wide projects to promote geographic understanding and has been connected with the methods training program at UW-Oshkosh. He formerly served as a Board Member for WCSS. He also coaches varsity soccer at Appleton North and West High.
2008 Elementary School Teacher of the Year: Kathy Riederer, Webster Stanley Elementary School, Oshkosh, WI. Kathy is currently a fourth grade teacher and in her sixth year at Webster Stanley Elementary. She graduated from UW-Oshkosh in 2002 with a degree in elementary education. She is co-advisor of the school's student-run newspaper, the Webster Wave and co-advises the SAILORS (Students Are Important Leaders Of Respect in School), a fourth and fifth grade leadership group. She recently collaborated on an article, "When University Social Studies Methods Faculty and Classroom Teachers Collaborate: There's Time for Powerful Social Studies!".