Stacy Mallette, a 2013 Lawrence University graduate, has been recognized by the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (WACTE).
A secondary level language arts and special education teacher at Green Bay’s Dr. Rosa Minoka-Hill School, a K-12 school that serves students with a continuum of unique learning needs, is one of the 2017 recipients of the WACTE’s Early Career Educator Award.
Corey Otis, who has been instrumental in shepherding nearly a dozen student teachers from Lawrence into the profession, has been named one of the 2017 winners of WACTE’s Pre-Service Educator Mentor Award.
Both will be honored Sunday, May 7 at the home of Lawrence University President Mark Burstein.
Otis and Mallette were selected for the awards by faculty of Lawrence’s college and conservatory teacher education program. Each Wisconsin college or university that belongs to WACTE was invited to select a recipient for each award.
The Early Career Educator Award honors outstanding educators within the first three years of their professional career. Mallette has taught at Minoka-Hill for three years.
Minoka-Hill Principal Renee Every credited Mallette for connecting with students who may never have experienced the benefit of having an adult in their school lives. While Minoka-Hill’s students are traditionally labeled “at risk,” Mallette only sees their “promise of success” according to Every.
“Stacy is caring, compassionate and an upbeat advocate for our students who not only cares about academic success, but about each one of them as a person,” said Every.
Stewart Purkey, Bee Connell Mielke Professor of Education and associate professor of education at Lawrence, called Mallette “the kind of teacher every parent would like for their children.”
“Lawrence is proud to name Stacy as its Early Career Educator this year,” said Purkey.
The Mentor Award recognizes an outstanding educator who has demonstrated a sustained pattern of mentoring pre-service educators for at least five years. Otis has taught English language arts teacher at Appleton East High School for 17 years.
Purkey describes Otis as a mentor in every sense of the term: advisor, guide, confidant, counselor, guru.
“Although veteran teachers sometimes forget they were once beginners and how difficult it is to learn to teach,” said Purkey, “Corey always treats budding teachers gently, with patience and good humor, care and respect, even as he holds them to the highest standards of the profession.”
Otis earned a bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison and his teaching certification from Lawrence.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
