Dunwiddie Teacher Wins Kohl Fellowship Award

One teacher is among the 100 teachers chosen statewide to recieve a total of $2,000 as an Herb Kohl 2012 Fellowship winner.

music teacher Jennie Andreasen was nominated by school staff and then chosen as a fellow winner.

"(I was) very pleasantly surprised — I feel humbled," " Andreasen said. "I'm so thrilled that this can ultimately benefit the students. I'm really pleased with the students at Dunwiddie — they deserve it."

After being nominated, Andreasen had to fill out an application as well as write a series of essays explaining her philosphy on education.

Fellowship winners "are chosen 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," according to a press release from the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation.

Dunwiddie Elementary Principal Diane Johnson gave a long list of reasons in an e-mail to Patch, explaining why she thought Andreasen was an excellent candidate for the award:

• She runs many different clubs during every minute of the school day (drumming club, choir, xylophone club, etc.); 
• She constantly searches for ways to improve as a teacher by attending Saturday workshops, summer school classes; 
• She received National Board certification in 2008 as a way to become a more outstanding teacher;  
• She teaches teachers who need general music certification during the summer; 
• She builds long-lasting deep connections with the students she works with;
• She takes students to places like Lincoln Village and the Christmas on the Corner to perform and build connections with the community;
• She is dedicated to serving each and every student in our school.

The fellowship program awards Dunwiddie a $1,000 grant, and Andreasen also recieves $1,000 for her own use — which she says will likely pay for an educational course to further her own knowledge.

While Andreasen does not specifically know what the $1,000 grant given to the school will be used for, she has ideas — such as more drums for her roughly 30 drummers to use, who currently share 8, or more xylophones for her roughly 20 players who currently share 10. Considering the cost of those items, though, $1,000 will go quickly, she said.

Andreasen has been with the district for eight years; before that, she taught in Manitowoc for three years. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in music education, and has a masters degree in curriculum and instruction from National Louis University in the Chicago area. She also has an Orff Schulwerk certification from Anderson University in Indiana.