Contributed Photo Pulaski Community School District superintendent Bec Kurzynske, left, and Fairview Elementary School principal Niki Napralla, right, were among a group to surprise Fairview Elementary School third-grade teacher Megan Santi that she is the winner of this year’s outstanding early career educator award by the Wisconsin Association of Teacher Education.
Fairview Elementary School third-grade teacher Megan Santi was notified Thursday in a surprise ceremony at the school library that she is the winner of this year’s outstanding early career educator award by the Wisconsin Association of Teacher Education.
She will be among other WACTE honorees at an upcoming awards tea held in Madison on April 8.
Santi, a second-year teacher and a 2016 graduate of St. Norbert College with a major in middle childhood/early adolescence education and a minor in language arts, said she was speechless and surprised when a group consisting of Pulaski Community School District superintendent Bec Kurzynske, Fairview principal Niki Napralla, Reid Riggle and Tynisha Meidl, both St. Norbert College associate professors of teacher education and co-chairs of teacher education, and Santi’s parents, entered the school library to give her the surprise news.
“I feel so lucky to be chosen and recognized for doing something I love so dearly,” Santi said. “Not only has St. Norbert college prepared me and help shape me into the educator I am today, but so have the outstanding educators I am surrounded by each day at Fairview Elementary. I could not ask for a better place to be doing what I love most — teaching!”
Santi has distinguished herself as a driven, reflective and student-centered educator, said Fairview principal Niki Napralla. “She is innovative and collaborative in her approach to reaching all learners to ensure engaging learning opportunities. She has developed strong relationships with her students while helping them to become their best selves. Megan is an asset to our school community and is truly deserving of this award.”
“We are thrilled that Megan has been recognized by St. Norbert College as an outstanding early career educator,” Kurzynske said. “In her work with our Fairview students, Megan shares her passion for teaching and learning in innovative experiences each day.”
WACTE is a professional organization composed of the Wisconsin institutions that prepare individuals for teacher licensure. Its educator preparation programs offer diversity in size, focus, and delivery, but all are designed to prepare quality teachers for Wisconsin’s schools. WACTE is an affiliate of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.