Green Bay, Manitowoc and Two Rivers educators complete PDC program
Twelve area educators from the Green Bay, Manitowoc and Two Rivers school districts have been awarded Professional Development Certification by the Institute for Learning Partnership at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
In an address titled “To Be Noble in Challenging Times,” Dr. Catherine Cullen of the Licensing Division of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction praised PDC graduates and said they are demonstrating their own nobility by pursuing professional excellence. Speaking at an awards ceremony Tuesday (May 3) in the UW-Green Bay University Union, Cullen applauded the recipients for their hard work, perseverance and devotion to education. “You have committed yourself to a program that encourages you to be excellent. Thank you for your commitment to children.”
The PDC is a unique, self-paced, individualized professional development program. The experience is based on student learning as well as professional growth for educators. The Department of Public Instruction recognizes the PDC for 5 year re-licensure of educators in Wisconsin.
The educators recognized for PDC completion were:
Lynn Carney, Green Bay, Physical Education Department Head, Edison Middle School, is a veteran teacher of more than 20 years. Her PDC work focused on providing students with the knowledge and skills to achieve a healthy lifestyle, not only in the school setting, but into adulthood.
Jessica Dresser, Green Bay, Special Education Teacher, Webster Elementary School, began her professional career in 2006. Her PDC work focused on inclusion in the least restrictive environment and behavior improvement through relationships.
Janice Hutterer, Manitowoc, Early Childhood Kindergarten Teacher at Riverview Elementary School, teaches kindergarten special education and children age 3 to 5. Her PDC work focused on developing 4-year-old kindergarten students’ handwriting using the HTW (Handwriting Without Tears) program.
Natalie Killion, Green Bay, School Counselor, Preble High School, a professional educator since 1998, has worked with students at Seymour and Green Bay Southwest High School, before her present assignment at Preble High School. Her PDC work focused on investigating and implementing strategies to improve transition of freshmen to high school, with the goal of reducing the number of failing grades.
Lisa Koch, Two Rivers, Two Rivers High School science teacher, began teaching Physics and Chemistry in 1993 at Mishicot High School, and has been a science teacher at Two Rivers since 1994. Her PDC work focused on significantly improving students’ success rates by learning different avenues of teaching and providing multiple options for her students to learn and practice new material.
Nikki Logan, Green Bay, bilingual special education teacher, Eisenhower Elementary School, began her professional career in 2007 in the Milwaukee Public School District and has been teaching at Eisenhower Elementary since 2008. Her PDC work focused on students in grade K-2, using the math workshop approach. She created math centers, an option board and math take-home bags, and documented on-task behaviors among various other activities.
Amy Quinn, Green Bay, first-grade teacher at Wilder Elementary School, began her professional career as an LD Special Education teacher in Seymour. Her PDC work focuses on literacy, specifically ways to improve the quality of her writer’s workshop and more effectively meet the needs of her struggling readers.
Brian Schley, Two Rivers, school counselor at L.B. Clarke Middle School, is in his fourth year as a school counselor. He is also the middle school Athletic Director and fifth-grade Learning is for Everyone (LIFE) teacher. His PDC work focused on creating a cross-age peer tutoring program to increase standardized test score in math and reading of at-risk students.
Tiffani Schley, Manitowoc, elementary school counselor at Jefferson Elementary School, is in her third year of school counseling. Her PDC work focused on determining the effects a structured school-wide bullying program could have on school climate.
Kathaleen Stilp, Green Bay, special education teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, began teaching students with special needs in 1996. She has worked at Jefferson school for 15 years. Her PDC work focused on scientific research which has not only reaffirmed the importance of explicit phonic instructions, but has brought to light the essential role of phonological awareness in learning to read.
Katherine Thibaudeau, Green Bay, Reading Recovery and Title I Reading Teacher at Eisenhower Elementary School, has previously taught in De Pere and Wrightstown. Her PDC work focused on vocabulary development after realizing that her students had little knowledge of what words mean, which results in a breakdown of reading comprehension.
Tammy Vann, Green Bay, Elementary ESL Program Support Teacher/English Language Learner Curriculum Coordinator, began working for the Green Bay School District in 2007. She has taught ESL at Baird Elementary and Aldo Leopold Community Schools. Her PDC work focused on researching and implementing strategies to help English Language Learners succeed in the classroom.
The Institute for Learning Partnership was founded in 1997-98 to focus on educational excellence with special attention to the PK-16 learner. The Institute brings together the resources of the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay and northeast Wisconsin’s school districts, businesses, and community leadership.
There are now more than 240 PDC graduates in the eight partner districts. The eight northeast Wisconsin school districts currently offer recognition and compensation for the PDC – De Pere, Sheboygan, Pulaski, Green Bay, Manitowoc, Two Rivers, West De Pere and Kiel.
For more information about the PDC or the Institute, visit www.uwgb.edu/learnpart/ or call (920) 465-5555.
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