The NEA Foundation has named the Illinois Teacher of the Year as one of 38 recipients of the 2013 California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence and recognized a Palatine music teacher for her work using iPads to help older students create eBooks for younger students.
Josh Stumpenhorst will be recognized at a February gala in Washington, D.C.
Stumpenhorst is a teacher at Lincoln Junior High School in Naperville who incorporates technology into his classroom and into lesson plans. He was also named the Illinois Teacher of the Year.
“We give these awards annually to honor and promote excellence in education and to elevate the profession. Educators like these are critical to their students’ academic success, and they deserve national recognition,” said Harriet Sanford, president and CEO of the NEA Foundation.
In addition to the recognition he’ll receive at the banquet, which is attended by 850 of the nation’s leaders in public education, philanthropy and the private sector, his school also will receive a $650 award. Five of the 38 state awardees will be selected to receive $10,000 awards and one will be chosen the nation’s top educator and will receive a $25,000 award.
In addition, the Foundation has recognized Laurie Scarpelli, a music teacher at Lake Louise Elementary School in Palatine, who used a Student Achievement Grant from the NEA Foundation to purchase several iPad2s. She then let her fifth and sixth grade music class create eBook nursery rhymes with original artwork and music for younger students.
Watch a video that shows the students working in groups to incorporate photos, text and student-performed music to create the project to help children in lower grades develop a love for reading, music and technology. The $5,000 grant was awarded to Scarpelli and her co-applicant, Marianne Rakoczy.
Illinois Education Association is an association of more than 130,000 members composed of Illinois elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty and staff, educational support professionals, retired educators and college students preparing to become teachers.