April 30, 2009

Kelly McMahon Nominated for the NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence

Kelly McMahon, a kindergarten teacher at Lancaster Elementary School, has been nominated by her peers for the National Education Association Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence.

“I’m pleased to nominate Kelly for this national teaching excellence award.” Wisconsin Education Association Council President Mary Bell said. “She’s an advocate and activist for Milwaukee’s children. She’s a proponent of Wisconsin’s great schools and a believer in the promise of public education. 

“Her dedication to the profession and to her students is demonstrated daily in her classroom,” Bell said. “Through this nomination, Kelly is honored by those who know her, her work and her dedication. 

“Wisconsin can be extremely proud of Kelly, and all of the top-notch teachers throughout our state” she said. “The hands of educators shape the future in countless ways. We know that our great public schools benefit not only children, but everybody across our state and our nation.” 

Lancaster Elementary Principal Kirsten Burks echoed Bell’s praise of McMahon. “Kelly is a very hard working and dedicated teacher and we are blessed to have her,” Burks said. “She is one of our thousands of dedicated teachers that work tirelessly in order to provide the best quality education for all students in Milwaukee Public Schools.” 

Jennifer Wills is McMahon’s co-teacher who praised her colleague’s talents both inside and outside the classroom. “Kelly is a wonderful teacher who is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to teach our children,” said Wills, who has co-taught 5-year-old kindergarten with McMahon for 6 years. “She uses self-reflection to improve lessons and makes a point of knowing every student’s strengths and weaknesses. Her instruction is individualized to make each student’s learning experience a positive and successful one. 

“She speaks frequently at public forums and assemblies about the importance of 5-year-old kindergarten,” Wills said. “She believes passionately in the importance of attending kindergarten and is one of the primary reasons 5-year-old kindergarten may become mandatory in the state of Wisconsin. 

“Kelly is a fighter and does not give up when she believes something is very important for the well being and education of our children,” Wills said. 

Wills said McMahon is a team player and is always striving for what is best for children and their families. “Kelly has provided after school tutoring to help children become successful readers,” she said. “She also provides materials that she pays for out of her own pocket so children can strengthen and improve academic skills. 

“Kelly is not only a teacher, but an advocate, mentor and friend to all she meets. Her heart and soul are given to teaching. She only wants the best for our kids and does whatever it takes to do so,” Wills said. 

Why does McMahon teach? “I provide my students with a voice,” she said. “I know I make a difference in their lives.” 

McMahon has positively influenced the children she has taught, including a little girl named Kenya, who entered kindergarten with limited reading and math skills.  

“I worked with her mother to get Kenya the extra support she needed for speech and language development. I continued to work with Kenya, her mother and her grandmother, even after Kenya moved to first grade, tutoring her in reading and math after school and during the summer,” McMahon said. 

“One day, Kenya’s mother stopped by to let me know that she would be heading back to jail for as long as three years,” McMahon continued. “She then asked me to watch over her girls and to, please, keep working with them. Our connection continued to grow, and to this day, Kenya still visits me.”

McMahon said relationships such as the one she has built with Kenya’s family are important in helping students achieve.  

Kenya agreed. 

“I will always remember the way she helped me with my education and life,” Kenya said of McMahon. “She helped me after school and during the summer. She was always there for me. 

“I still can talk to her about anything, even though I am now in the fifth grade,” Kenya added.