Kathie Heusel

"Kathie Heusel deserves the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch because she is the most talented, dedicated, and humble teacher I know. I have been an educator for 32 years (17 as an elementary principal)| Kathie is truly #1 of all the teachers I have ever worked with.

You might think being a Milken Award winner would be the "defining moment" for a teacher. Not Kathie| she continues to do amazing things every day.

This year I moved Kathie to a fifth/sixth grade combination class due to budget cuts. Kathie spent her summer looking at standards and outcomes for each grade level. She masterfully integrated both curriculums and has produced engaging projects with high standards for her students. For example, Kathie took the science outcomes for 5th/6th and developed an amusement park project that her students have gone crazy over. Students applied the skills of variables, levers and pullies, etc. into one wild ride! They planned, built, wrote drafts in their journals, tested, recorded graph data, wrote claims, created presentation boards and presented scientifically to me and their class. It doesn''t get any better than this!

I can only say so much with 250 words (I could use thousands and not accurately describe Kathie''s instructional skills), so I will conclude by saying Kathie would make us all proud in carrying the Olympic Torch. She embodies the Olympic spirit as she makes a difference in the lives of students and families every day. She is gold medal material!" CR