Clara Schultz, a teacher from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School, has been named as a regional honoree in the WEM Foundation’s 2020 Outstanding Educator Awards program.

Schultz is being honored with an Academic Challenge Coach Award, which recognizes teachers who are exemplary coaches of student teams that participate and compete in academic challenges approved by the Minnesota Academic League Council.

Schultz has been teaching and coaching for 41 years and currently teaches third grade at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School, a private school in Hastings. In addition to teaching, Schultz coaches FIRST LEGO League (FLL). FLL is centered around theme-based challenges that engage students in research, problem solving, coding and engineering. Schultz brought FLL to her school in 2018 to give students who are mechanically gifted, but not necessarily confident in their academic abilities, a chance to shine.

“Mrs. Schultz’s love for her students and her desire to push them to be the best they can be has not slowed with time, it has gotten stronger,” shared Tim Sullivan, principal. “She recognizes that education is not about her, it’s about the students. She does not see students as test scores, but sees each one as a child of God and treats them as such.”

One thing Schultz hopes to instill in all her students is the desire to be lifelong learners. One way that she instills this desire is to be a good example of a lifelong learner herself. She feels students need to see her excitement and inquisitiveness when she herself learns something new. When a question comes up that she does not have the answer to, she asks a student to find the answer, or they find the answer together. Schultz will say, “Look, even I learned something new today!”

“Mrs. Schultz helped my child not only improve his grades, but his confidence grew in leaps and bound,” said a former classroom parent. That confidence carried outside of the classroom and into life at home and in sports. I know my child has been changed for the better because of Mrs. Schultz and for that I am eternally grateful.”

In addition to the Academic Challenge Coach Award, other educators are being honored with the Ethics in Education Award (exemplary educators who embody ethical behavior and promote ethical development for students through classroom or school activities, policies or curriculum), Teacher Achievement Award (exemplary teachers who support, inspire, and assist students to attain greater learning as evidenced by student achievement) and Athletic Coach Award (teachers who are exemplary coaches of athletic teams).

Educators are first nominated for the WEM Outstanding Educator Awards Program by students, parents, colleagues or community members. Those who accept the nomination provide additional information for consideration by Synergy & Leadership Exchange and a blue ribbon selection panel, which reviews and ranks the nominees. Six educators received statewide honors, and six educators were named as regional honorees for the 2020 WEM Foundation Outstanding Educator Awards Synergy & Leadership Exchange is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering collaboration to advance the development of ethical citizens, providing educational resources, and celebrating achievement and best practices in Minnesota schools, businesses and communities.

For more information on the WEM Outstanding Educator Awards Program and Synergy & Leadership Exchange, visit www.synergyexchange.org.

Clara Schultz