Rockwell Awards for Cooperating Personnel

Through the generosity of Roland and Ruth Rockwell, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is pleased to offer four $1000 awards to outstanding cooperating teachers. The Rockwell Awards recognize excellent teachers who have chosen to pass on their expertise by providing professional experiences for UW-Madison student teachers. The awards will be presented at the annual Partners in Education Banquet.

Award recipients will have had at least five (5) UW-Madison student teachers and will have demonstrated

• exemplary teaching ability by establishing an environment that instills a desire for students to learn, bringing enthusiasm into the classroom, and putting into practice quality and successful teaching techniques, methods, and goals.
• long-term commitment to their students, the profession of teaching, and their student teachers.
• effective mentoring of student teachers by modeling and transmitting skills, professional attitudes, and the love of the profession to the next teaching generation.

Candidates are rated on the extent to which they

• make student teachers feel welcome and involved in the school environment from the initial stages of the experience;
• share information about and facilitate access to the variety of school resources available for student teachers;
• are flexible and open to change;
• encourage student teachers to try new ideas and develop new curriculum;
• provide effective guidance, feedback, and opportunities for student teachers to reflect on their teaching experience.

Nominations are invited from colleagues, university supervisors, program faculty, school administrators, and former (not current) student teachers. Selection of award recipients will be made by a committee of teachers and University staff from the UW-Madison School of Education.

The nomination packet must include

• a completed nominating statement including the signature of the candidate's principal.
• at least three and no more than five additional letters of support from different participants in the student teaching experience--administrators, university supervisors, peers, and former (not current) student teachers. No more than two letters should be from individuals in any one category.
• a brief letter of endorsement from the program coordinator in the student teaching area if s/he is not the nominator or does not submit a letter of support.

Participants should make clear their relationship to the candidate in the nominating statement or letter of support. Please note that letters from former student teachers have been especially persuasive. A strong nomination packet describes in detail how candidates have met the selection criteria and provides examples and anecdotes. Nominees from previous years will be reconsidered by written request.

Contact Valli Warren by phone at 262-3773 or by email at vdwarren@education.wisc.edu to learn whether your potential candidate has a file already established, to determine the candidate's number of student teachers and/or program coordinator, or other relevant information.

Please forward the nominating statement and support letters to Roland and Ruth Rockwell Cooperating Teacher Award, c/o Education Academic Services, Rust-Schreiner Hall, 115 N. Orchard Street, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53715-1150. Nominations will be accepted until Friday, September 25, 2009.

Click here for a list of previous Rockwell winners.

Comments or Problems: easinfo@education.wisc.edu.
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