It's all about students and student learning; that's what the Presidential Award means to me. I am humbled to be given this honor when I know that every day teachers in every school are going above and beyond to make sure their students are happy, cared for, and making meaningful academic progress. We are a group of professionals who want to do what is best for the most important people in our classrooms, the students. 

Mary Fernan Milton, WI | K-6, Mathematics, 2012

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Mary Catherine “Cathy” Fernan has been in the classroom having fun with mathematics and her students for 26 years. After a long stint teaching third grade, she graduated to teaching sixth grade and currently teaches at Northside Intermediate School in the School District of Milton.    Cathy makes her pupils a number one priority. Student learning comes first. She relentlessly seeks out best practices in mathematics to make difficult concepts accessible, keep students positive and engaged, and guide parents through the “new way” that mathematics is taught. Cathy has even posted her own versions of Khan Academy tutorials for students and parents.   In her free time, Cathy has led several Family Math Nights in Milton; served on the district's Math Curriculum Adoption Committee; field-tested the Bridges in Mathematics Grade 3 curriculum for the Math Learning Center; traveled to Japan through the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program; been a teacher for the Yerkes Astrophysics Academy for Young Scientists, a National Science Foundation-funded program; and been an item assessor for Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium.   Cathy has a B.S. in elementary education from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and an M.Ed. in interdisciplinary studies in curriculum and instruction from National Louis University. In 2004, she became her district’s first National Board Certified Teacher.

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