Educators, staff recognized during DeKalb School District 428 Board meeting

DeKALB – Two DeKalb School District 428 music teachers were recognized with awards for excellence in education at Tuesday’s district board meeting.

Travis Erikson, DeKalb High School choir director, was named as the 29th recipient of the Wirtz Award, which is given out annually to a current District 428 staff member who promotes a program or organization that lifts a student’s sense of human values or purpose.

Sheryl Nakonechny of the DeKalb Education Foundation said Wirtz Award winners all provide distinguished service to the district.

“They bring quality to the public school system and the community,” Nakonechny said.

Other nominees included Kelly Boyle, a special education teacher at DeKalb High School; Ashley Carlson, a special education resource teacher at Founders Elementary School; Becky Mascal, a math teacher at Huntley Middle School; Andria Mitchell, principal of Tyler Elementary School; and Debbie Prellwitz, a first-grade teacher at Brooks Elementary School.

Steve Lundin, DeKalb High School band director and fine arts coordinator, was the recipient of the 2018 Excellence in Education award from the DeKalb County Community Foundation.

Lundin has taught in DeKalb for 11 years and teaches marching band, jazz ensemble, lab jazz, percussion ensemble and steel band.

“Steve exemplifies DeKalb County’s best teachers and the board is pleased to celebrate his leadership, hard work and dedication to the students and staff of DeKalb School District,” a statement from the school district read.

The board also recognized 12 faculty and staff members for faithfully serving District 428 for 20 years and seven faculty staff members on their retirement at the end of the 2017-18 school year.

District 428 Superintendent Jamie Craven thanked all of the retiring teachers and in the philosophy of cartoonist Charles Schulz, reminded them that it doesn’t matter how much money you have or how big their house might be. What matters is that they had an effect on the life of a child.