Award-winning teacher gets tips from motherhood
Who has the top early career educator in the state? We do.
Of the more than 150 award recipients at the 2009-10 Those Who Excel Awards, only one teacher in the state was named the Outstanding Early Career Educator, and Oswego Community Unit School District 308 is proud to claim that educator as one of its own.
Catherine Mewmaw, an Oswego resident and fifth-grade teacher at Southbury Elementary, was selected for the top spot in her category of educators who have been employed in teaching five years or less. Those who have been teaching for more than five years compete for the Teacher of the Year designation.
"It is hard for me to imagine that I have only been teaching for five years," Mewmaw said. "In so many ways, it feels like I have been a teacher for my entire life. Although I began my "career" in advertising, it was always a job ... work. Teaching is my life. It is what I was meant to do. It is part of every fiber of my being."
The Illinois State Board of Education agreed presenting Mewmaw with the Early Career Educator of the Year award on Oct. 24 in Peoria at the Those Who Excel Awards Banquet and Program. Those Who Excel candidates are nominated through letters of recommendation by local schools and community members. The nomination also includes the nominee's biography, philosophy of education, professional development, community involvement and opinions of the state's most pressing educational needs.
"Cathy's passion for serving others is what truly sets her apart from others in our district," said Jeremy Ricken, who served as Mewmaw's building principal at East View Elementary School for four years. "She has never limited her energy and efforts to her own classroom and has a special talent for reaching students beyond her own walls."
As a former fifth-grade student of Mewmaw, Courtney Licul remembers her teacher as one who "goes above and beyond" for her students. "In Mrs. Mewmaw's classroom you feel comfortable, you feel like you are one of her own children," Licul said. "Mrs. Mewmaw is always looking for new ways to present information, creative ways to inspire us and she makes learning and going to school every day an adventure."
Mewmaw has been with District 308 since she entered the teaching profession five years ago.
"When I earned my master's degree in education, it was with one 10-year-old son, an 8-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter cheering me on," she said. "Entering this profession at the age of 39 allowed me to have the wisdom, experience, maturity and compassion of being a mother — all of which make me a much better educator. When I look out over my classroom, I see my students through the eyes of a parent, I teach them as I wish my own children to be taught. My educational philosophies have been shaped by my life experiences."
In only five years, Mewmaw has made a tremendous impact on those in the district. For her students she is a tremendous teacher who organized Civil War Days, World War II Day, an Underground Railroad simulation and Ellis Island simulation as well as being involved with Safety Patrol, French Club, Yearbook Club and a Student Council sponsor. For her co-workers she is a union representative, Web master, mentor and serves on the building's leadership team and Character Counts committee. For the district she is a leader in social studies curriculum and assessments and a valued resource on a strategic goal committee, elementary task force, science leadership team, and intervention and differentiation committees. And for the profession of education, as stated by the Illinois State Board of Education, she is simply "outstanding."
Kristine Liptrot is the director of communications for Oswego School District 308. She can be reached at kliptrot@oswego308.org.
