{"id":12620,"date":"2025-07-10T09:28:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T14:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=12620"},"modified":"2025-07-10T09:28:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T14:28:29","slug":"uw-whitewater-physical-education-alums-named-national-teachers-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uw-whitewater-physical-education-alums-named-national-teachers-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"UW-Whitewater physical education alums named National Teachers of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
(from left) Courtney Lukasavitz, a physical education teacher at Indian Community School in Franklin, Wisconsin, was named Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year, and Sandee Ortiz, a health education teacher at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, earned Health Education Teacher of the Year honors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Educators who graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater make a difference at their schools and in their communities.<\/p>\n

Of the five\u00a0National Teachers of the Year announced this spring by SHAPE America<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the professional development and advocacy organization for physical education, health education, and adapted PE \u2014 two of them called UW-Whitewater home as undergraduate students.<\/p>\n

Courtney Lukasavitz, a physical education teacher at Indian Community School in Franklin, Wisconsin, was named Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year, and Sandee Ortiz, a health education teacher at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, earned Health Education Teacher of the Year honors. Both Lukasavitz and Ortiz are National Board Certified (NBCT) \u2014 something only 3 percent of teachers nationwide can claim.<\/p>\n

Both are also proud alumni of UW-Whitewater, which graduates the most licensed teachers in Wisconsin and has been educating future teachers since its founding in 1868. Graduates from the\u00a0College of Education and Professional Studies<\/a>\u00a0have a long history of winning awards at the district level from SHAPE America and at the state level from Wisconsin Health and Physical Education (WHPE).<\/p>\n

SHAPE America sets the standard for the way individual states promote health and physical education, according to Rebekah Johnson, assistant professor of\u00a0kinesiology<\/a>. Johnson is currently on the SHAPE America Midwest district leadership council and has served on the WHPE board of directors in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing at the national convention and seeing two of our alums as Teachers of the Year is a powerful message to our graduates that this is who they could become,\u201d said Johnson, who went to school with Lukasavitz at UW-Whitewater and first met Ortiz when she was a student teacher. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge honor \u2026 they\u2019ll be presenting at this year\u2019s convention in Kansas City, and everyone will get to learn from two of the best teachers our state has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lukasavitz and Ortiz \u2014 who each claimed state and district Teacher of the Year honors \u2014 advanced through multiple rounds of interviews and voting to be considered for the national awards. As\u00a0first-generation college students<\/a>, they experienced similar challenges and triumphs on their journeys to professional excellence.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
UW-Whitewater alums Sandee Ortiz, second from left, and Courtney Lukasavitz, center, were among the five teachers honored as 2025 SHAPE America National Teachers of the Year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

A leader to students and peers alike<\/h3>\n

Lukasavitz worked in Franklin Public Schools before joining the team at Indian Community School, a private institution that serves indigenous students from urban settings, two years ago.<\/p>\n

During the second half of her tenure at Franklin, Lukasavitz authored a grant that gave the school additional physical education equipment to offer more courses. She also instituted standards-based grading and instruction, integrating technologies like heart rate monitors into physical education instruction.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s doing incredible things,\u201d said Johnson, who assisted Lukasavitz through the award nomination process. \u201cI told her, \u2018you\u2019re already doing all these great things, you just need to tell your story.\u2019 She\u2019s innovating and finding ways to bring kids into health and physical education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lukasavitz was chosen from four district honorees as the winner of the Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gratifying because you really put your heart and soul into your career,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s validating and affirming, but also humbling at the same time \u2026 there\u2019s still room to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lukasavitz, whose husband, Cal, also graduated from UW-Whitewater, earned her BSE in\u00a0physical education<\/a>\u00a0in 2009. She was encouraged to explore attending UW-Whitewater by a friend and was impressed with the facilities during a\u00a0campus tour<\/a>, joining the Warhawk family as a freshman in 2004.<\/p>\n

She quickly immersed herself into the campus and community, working as a\u00a0peer mentor<\/a>\u00a0as a sophomore and as a student assistant with\u00a0Warhawk athletics<\/a>\u00a0on campus and as an employee at 841 Brewhouse \u2014 formerly Randy\u2019s \u2014 in Whitewater. She also was highly involved in\u00a0intramurals<\/a>, playing volleyball, basketball, and softball.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe peer mentor program was crucial to my feeling part of a community from the jump,\u201d Lukasavitz said. \u201cThe program helped me feel included and authentically build my leadership skills to mentor people, which is what we do as teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

A physical education major from the time she stepped onto campus, Lukasavitz never wavered in her career pursuit.<\/p>\n

She hopes to continue to develop professional development opportunities across the state for her teaching colleagues through WHPE. This July in Stevens Point, Lukasavitz will present alongside current UW-Whitewater students at the Department of Public Instruction\u2019s Best Practices in Physical and Health Education conference.<\/p>\n

Most of all, she enjoys building connections with her students on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy helping students find their purpose for moving and find joy in movement so it can transfer beyond middle school,\u201d she said. \u201cOne student might like basketball, another student might learn that they enjoy disc golf or being out in nature \u2026 I want to help them understand that fitness is for everybody and they can find joy in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A service-oriented mentor<\/h3>\n

Ortiz has impacted hundreds of students during her nearly three-decade run as a teacher and coach.<\/p>\n

She spent 21 years at Delavan-Darien High School, where she taught health and physical education and coached boys and girls tennis. In 2009, she helped the school earn a $1.2 million Physical Education Programs (PEP) grant that she said \u201cchanged the culture\u201d of the health and physical education department.<\/p>\n

For the past six years, Ortiz has worked in Sun Prairie. She spent her first three years at East High School, then known as Sun Prairie High School, before moving over to West High School. During that time, she has served as WHPE president and SHAPE America Midwest district president, representing the state and district in Washington D.C. to advocate for proper funding for health and physical education.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was supporting (WHPE) members trying to earn National Board Certification, mentoring other interested PE teachers to go through that process,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cShe gives back constantly \u2026 I\u2019ve enjoyed watching her make a difference at all these different levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to her hard work and advocacy, Ortiz was named Health Education Teacher \u2014 an especially impressive honor since it is not separated out by grade level.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about the award itself \u2014 it\u2019s about the 27 years that I\u2019ve invested in students,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cThe impact that I\u2019ve made is special to me. The recognition is great, but I really felt like my whole career flashed in front of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 1998 graduate with a BSE in physical education, Ortiz lauded her support from the schools she\u2019s worked at as well as UW-Whitewater, where she competed in\u00a0softball<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0tennis<\/a>\u00a0and was a part of a student organization for Latino students. She worked hard to be her best as a student-athlete and supported her education by working with the athletic department under Dianne Jones, the former coach and director of athletics.<\/p>\n

Academically, she weighed options in\u00a0chemistry<\/a>, education and\u00a0business<\/a>\u00a0during her first two years on campus before homing in on physical education.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing the purple pride, the Warhawk pride, and like-minded athletes, I felt like I was in the right place,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cLike athletics, the education department was thriving. I felt prepared when I left college, and not many people can say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ortiz said the relationships with her students are the highlight of her role as an educator. She credits Deb Ludlow, one of her mentors who also graduated from UW-Whitewater and was a longtime employee with the Delavan-Darien School District, for giving her the wisdom she turns to each day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of challenges in education today, but celebrating students and putting them first is the top priority,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you put kids first in all you do as an educator, you\u2019ll have a great career.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Written by Chris Lindeke | Photos courtesy of SHAPE America<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/news\/archive\/2025-6-national-teachers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Educators who graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater make a difference at their schools and in their communities. Of the five\u00a0National Teachers of the Year announced this spring by SHAPE America\u00a0\u2014 the professional development and advocacy organization for physical education, health education, and adapted PE \u2014 two of them called UW-Whitewater home as undergraduate students. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":12626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[84],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-12620","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-whitewater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/12620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12620"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=12620"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=12620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}