MENTORING PROGRAM AWARD WINNERS
2008 Mentor of the Year
Dennis Healy
Dennis Healy has taught high school English since 1973 and served as mentor and mentor trainer since 1988. His greatest satisfaction from his mentoring efforts is seeing the young professionals that he has mentored develop pride in touching young lives with their knowledge, compassion and skill.
During the past two years, he has helped write Journey to Excellence, a mentoring and induction model program developed and sponsored by the Iowa State Education Association in partnership with the Iowa Department of Education.
Dennis is currently writing a book for publication about teaching and mentoring. The working title is "From Student Teacher to Master Teacher: Building a Career in the Classroom."2008 Mentor Program Leader of the Year
Connie Richardson and Pat Shipley
Since 1999, they have co-facilitated training for beginning educators and mentors in AEA 13. During the past two years, they helped write and pilot Journey to Excellence, a mentoring and induction model program developed and sponsored by the Iowa State Education Association in partnership with the Iowa Department of Education.
Connie and Pat believe that educators, new and experienced, do amazing things every day in the classroom. They are committed to keeping highly qualified teachers in the profession and supporting them with the best they have to offer.2007 Mentor of the Year
Peggy Ostrander
Peggy Ostrander has taught special education at Clive Elementary School since 1977. She has served as a Direct Instruction Reading Coach for special education teachers in the West Des Moines Community School District since 2004. Peggy has served as a cooperating teacher and mentor since the late 1990’s and has facillitated a WDMCSD study group entitled, “Preparing the Iowa Teaching Standards Portfolio.”
Peggy has completed both the West Des Moines Community School District’s Mentor of First-Year Teachers’ and Second-Year Teachers’ trainings. She returned to the Mentors of First-Year Teachers’ training this school year.
2007 Mentor Program Leader of the Year
Jan Olson
Jan Olson A key force in designing and implementing the Enhancing Educator Excellence Induction Program for the Sioux City Community School District, Jan Olson has served as the fulltime coordinator for seven years. The program has trained more than 150 mentors; is a valuable resource to beginning teachers; and now includes a “Teachers in Transition” component for career teachers new to the district.
As a former classroom teacher, school counselor, and district/state administrator of career development, Jan is a strong advocate for quality classroom teaching as well as comprehensive standards-based school counseling programs. She has chaired the School Counselor Standards Writing Committee and currently serves on the district’s Performance Review Committee.
2006 Mentor of the Year
Charlene Ondracke
Charlene Ondracek has 38 years of teaching reading in the West Des Moines Community School District. She began her teaching career at Clive Elementary School, spent the majority of it at Clegg Park Elementary, and is now teaching at Hillside Elementary, which she helped open in 2004. Char served as a mentor in the West Des Moines Community School District during the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 school years when the program was locally funded. She has served officially as a state-funded mentor during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 schools years. During this time, she has served as a mentor to Lindsay Law, currently a second year reading teacher completing the Comprehensive Evaluation process in the WDMCSD. Char also has served as a cooperating teacher many times.
Char has completed both the West Des Moines Community School District’s Mentors of First Year Teachers and Mentors of Second Year Teachers’ Training seminars.
2006 Mentor Program Leader of the Year Tammy Wawro 
Tammy Wawro The Cedar Rapids Education Association chose Tammy for the position of Mentoring and Induction Coordinator because of her excellent communication skills, her experience and skill as a classroom teacher, the respect she earned from her peers and colleagues, outstanding people skills and her academic achievement including National board Certification. Tammy’s leadership has earned her the respect and confidence of teachers and administration alike.
Tammy’s initiatives have included a process for matching of mentors and mentees, an orientation program for new teachers, a year-round support system in the development of curriculum, one-line lesson planning templates, communications with administrators to be able to catch problems early, remediation and support procedures for beginning teachers, and a fabulous E-Portfolio collaboration done with the University of Iowa.
