Erin Steuerwald, a former Whitewater resident, was honored at the fifth annual Recognition of Outstanding Early Career Educators and Pre-Service Educator Mentors award ceremony sponsored by the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the Meemic Foundation. The ceremony was held at the Monona Terrace Community and Conference Center in Madison on Sunday, April 8.
Miss Steuerwald, a Watertown Unified School District elementary physical education teacher, was recognized for her excellence as an early career educator. She is in her third year of teaching physical education at two elementary schools in the district. She distinguishes herself in the district as a competent, driven and reputable educator. In the classroom, Steuerwald creates unique learning environments for the students as noted by Emily Lessner, principal at Douglas Elementary School. “Erin is dedicated to providing students with a well-rounded, purposeful experience in physical education. She focuses on teaching students skills and applying these skills in an engaging way. Within one physical education class, Erin’s students learn and practice a variety of skills. Erin reflects on student learning, modeling and providing feedback to students to promote growth. We are thrilled to have Erin on the physical education team in the Watertown Unified School District.”
Steuerwald has also been involved as a coach of extracurricular activities including seventh-grade volleyball coach at Riverside Middle School, varsity volleyball coach at Dodgeland High School, varsity assistant volleyball coach at Watertown High School, freshman team basketball coach at Watertown High School, varsity assistant basketball coach at Watertown High School, assistant track and field coach at Riverside Middle School and mentor for Girls on the Run in Watertown.
The extent of her outreach has allowed her to form unique relationships with many students which has opened doors for her to share her philosophy about building a life of character.
This is the fifth year that the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education has sponsored the Early Career and Pre-Service Educator Awards. The awards ceremony continues to grow each year, with over 200 people attending last year. This year 59 teachers from 30 different institutions of higher education across the state were honored for their professional excellence. The keynote speaker this year was Matthew W. Miller Sr., the 2018 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. The Meemic Foundation sponsors the awards ceremony as well as the keynote speaker.
WACTE is a professional organization composed of the Wisconsin institutions that prepare students for initial teacher licensure. The educator preparation programs offer diversity in size, focus and delivery but are all designed to prepare quality teachers for Wisconsin’s schools. WACTE is an affiliate of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
