Five Catholic school teachers earn Emerson award

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Five teachers in Catholic school are among almost 100 area educators to receive the 2011 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Awards.

They are Sarah Doggendorf, Sts. Joachim and Ann School in St. Charles; Kathleen Reid, St. Ann School in Normandy; Sister Celine Schumacher, SSND, Notre Dame High School in Lemay; Lisa Slama, St. Gabriel the Archangel School in south St. Louis; and Elizabeth Woodley, St. Justin Martyr School in Sunset Hills.

They will receive their awards at a ceremony and reception Sunday, Nov. 13, at the Sheldon Concert Hall. Emerson, headquartered in St. Louis, has sponsored this program since 1989 to promote quality education throughout the area.

Sarah Doggendorf

Doggendorf, who teaches fourth grade, attended Sts. Joachim and Ann School, where she has taught for four years. In addition to continuing her own professional education, she also spends time developing new and innovative classroom programs, including a Missouri history curriculum for her fourth-graders, and developing strategies to resolve conflicts.

Kathleen Reid

Reid has taught for 12 years at St. Ann School in first and second grade. A former special education teacher with knowledge of individualized instruction, she adapted a learning model to teach reading and writing to her second-graders and helped her first-graders better learn about numbers. She is knowledgeable in technology, including helping design the school website.

Sr. Celine Schumacher

Sister Celine teaches chemistry and physics to sophomores through seniors at Notre Dame, where she has served for five years. She is active in her field and even solicits grants to upgrade school equipment. Since she has been at Notre Dame, enrollment in physics classes has doubled and a number of former students are studying aeronautical, chemical and other engineering and science majors in college.

Lisa Slama

Slama, who has served at St. Gabriel School for 13 years, teaches sixth- and eighth-grade religion. Slama challenges her students through various activities and classroom practices, helping to draw them closer to God. Working with the religious education coordinator, she helped develop a strong religion curriculum and sacramental preparation program.

Elizabeth Woodley

Woodley has taught at St. Justin Martyr for four years. She teaches seventh- and eighth-grade language arts and social studies, teaching her students to think, collaborate, research and solve problems. She has been a leader in professional learning and a standards-based curriculum model at the school and incorporates concepts from the anti-bullying program into teaching literature.