For the fifth year in a row, an Oconto Falls School District teacher has won a Herb Kohl Fellowship award.
High school math teacher Tammy Moynihan is the 2015 recipient of the award that recognizes superior ability to inspire a love of learning in students, motivate others, and show leadership and service in and out of the classroom.
Principal Bruce Russell said Moynihan is highly supportive of her peers and a “brave” educator who led staff members at a difficult time with the addition of the Common Core state standards.
“She has that knack to create curriculum, create classes and also relate to students to get the best out of them,” he said.
Since the retirement of Director of Instruction Candie Lehto last year, Moynihan has participated in a pilot program as the district’s math leader. Her role is to develop a math vision, looking at curriculum and meeting with teachers and administrators to oversee the program.
“We want to make sure kids get what the state mandates in math education,” Moynihan said.
Superintendent Dave Polashek said the district opted to use master teachers, such as Moynihan, instead of hiring a director of instruction.
“This effort will bring more coordination and collaboration between teachers of math K-12,” he said. “They will be more effective in that process, and student and achievement in math should continue to be on the rise.”
Colleague Greg Boehmer said Moynihan is a positive role model for students and fellow teachers.
“She is selfless. She will drop everything to listen, guide and lead our math team to bigger and better things,” he said. “She is a positive role model for our community, for our profession of teachers and for her students.”
Moynihan, who is head of the high school math department, described the department as having “a huge heart for students.”
“The times I enjoy teaching the most is when I get goosebumps because my students are actively engaged in their math,” she said. “They’re working through rigorous problems, talking to each other about the problems.”
“Tammy is passionate and dedicated to math education,” colleague Candis Holtz said. “She is great at promoting what we do, making math a positive experience for both her students and fellow co-workers.”
She described Moynihan as a visionary who continually creates new activities, lessons and assessments.
“She’s always offering extra help for us when we fall behind,” freshman Camryn Radaj said. “She pushes us to do better when she knows we can, so we’re not slackers.”
“She keeps on task and makes it fun,” sophomore Brea Borchert said. “She makes songs up to help memorize stuff.”
Besides teaching, Moynihan partnered with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in 2013 to implement a grant geared toward increasing the number of skilled welders in the region.
She has written course descriptions for classes and aided in developing a course placement exam for eighth-graders.
In 2000, Moynihan devised a districtwide recycling program that accepts donations of used printer cartridges and cell phones. To date, the program has recycled more than 85,000 items and has raised more than $25,000.
The funds are available as grants to teachers in the district for student activities. More than 5,500 children’s books were bought and given to elementary school students with some of the money.
Moynihan is a graduate of Mercer High School and St. Norbert College in De Pere. She began her teaching career in Oconto Falls in 1996. She received her Master of Education degree from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, in 2001.
“I’ve wanted to teach since little on,” she said, with a smile. “The times I’ve just loved being a teacher is watching my students master difficult problems. When they have those ‘ah ha!’ moments — that’s awesome! The room is completely alive with math!”
“Her passion shines through when you talk to her. It’s become who she is,” Russell said.
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