The Hamilton School District will be well-represented May 13 at the 14th Annual Partners for Education Awards Program. Two Hamilton High School teachers and two business partners will receive awards for their innovative efforts in connecting schools and the work world.
Recipient of the Distinguished Educator Award is Jill Matarrese, Hamilton High School Alternative Programs Coordinator. Matarrese will be honored for her instrumental role in developing a teacher education partnership program with Carroll College that provides students interested in education with job shadowing opportunities and academic assistant placements in classrooms.
Bielinski Builders will receive the Loyal Partner Award for support of the high school’s construction program. For the past seven years, the company has taken a leadership role in assisting students gain hands-on experiences in the construction profession. Bielinski Builders also provided vision and creative problem-solving when it deepened the partnership in 2003-04 collaborating with Hamilton and the Southeast Wisconsin Carpenters Training Center to provide a professional training site for construction students. In addition, donated funds to cover the cost of a full-time construction teacher and materials and equipment.
The Partner Award will go to the Southeast Wisconsin Carpenters Training Center which provides a controlled real-world environment for a Hamilton construction teacher to join a carpenter-trainer at the center where they teach students about safety, quality and productivity. In addition, the center has contributed to curricular revisions, collaborated with technology education teachers, made periodic visits to classes, provided materials and set-ups for students to complete on site, and arranged speakers and safety demonstrations from Milwaukee Tool and Die for Hamilton carpentry classes.
Hamilton marketing and accounting teacher Skip Hay will receive the Good Idea Award for inspiring students to create a student-operated school store. The “Charger Corner” has been in operation for two years and serves as a laboratory where students apply the skills they learn in marketing, accounting, computer and web page design classes. Students learn valuable workplace skills, and profits are used for student scholarships and participation in the DECA State Career Development Conference.
The awards program will be held at the Country Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Waukesha.