6 / 20
6
District Celebrations
This past spring, the School Social Work
Association of America (SSWAA)
selected Mrs. Stacy Colgan as the
National 2015 Social Worker of the
Year
. Mrs. Colgan’s professionalism,
caring, and creative approach to
supporting student needs are just a few
reasons she has been selected as the recipient of this
award.
Mrs. Colgan has served students and families as a
school social worker for 10 years. For the past six
years she has supported students in Kindergarten and
Grades Three through Five at Schiesher Elementary
School. Central to Mrs. Colgan’s approach is the belief
in creating meaningful opportunities for students to
succeed and grow through social-emotional learning
experiences.
One type of activity Mrs. Colgan was instrumental in
implementing is “student-planned” Family Fun Nights.
Students work as a team to plan all the aspects of the
night including themes, decorations, posters, activities,
and food, just to name a few. Through these types
of activities students have the opportunity to take
ownership, responsibility, and pride in being a part of
student organized school-wide events.
We congratulate Mrs. Stacy Colgan on this well-
deserved and prestigious award!
Mrs. Stacy Colgan -
Selected National 2015
School Social Worker
of the Year
Mrs. Carol Frueh -
Tate Woods Elementary
Art Program Named
Top Ten in Illinois
Carol Frueh, Art Teacher at Tate Woods
Elementary School, deserves to take
a step out of the art room and into
the spotlight! Mrs. Frueh has been
recognized by Artsonia - the world’s
largest online kid’s art museum - for
outstanding leadership in the area of Art
Education. The
Tate Woods online art gallery ranks #9
in the state
, according to Artsonia.
The Leadership Award presented to Carol Frueh
honors teachers who go beyond the classroom walls
to encourage family and community involvement in
Art Education. The award also recognizes significant
achievement in the area of technology integrationwithin
the school art program. State rankings are based on
specific criteria, which demonstrate both aspects of the
Leadership Award.
While teachers inmore than 100countries showcase their
students’ artwork on Artsonia, Mrs. Frueh has created
a school community deserving of recognition. During
the 2014-2015 school year, the Tate Woods Elementary
School gallery showcased thousands of pieces of
artwork. The school received the Comments Award
for last school year ranking #6 in Illinois for comments
posted among all schools and #4 for comments posted
among elementary schools! Currently, the Tate Woods
art collection has been visited almost 133,000 times and
has received 670 comments from friends and family.
“Artsonia is a simple yet effective way to get parents
and family members more involved in Art Education,”
commented Mrs. Frueh, “and my students love it!”