Helen Rada, a second-grade teacher at Putnam Heights Elementary School in Eau Claire, holds her award certificate as she celebrates winning the Golden Apple Award with her students during a celebration announcing the award on Feb. 6. Photo courtesy of Helen Rada.
 

UWRF grad recognized for her teaching excellence

Rada receives award given in Eau Claire Area School District

February 19, 2024 – Helen Rada, a University of Wisconsin-River Falls graduate now teaching second grade at Putnam Heights Elementary School in Eau Claire, has been recognized for her educator expertise despite being only two years into her professional career.

Rada, who graduated from UW-River Falls with an elementary education degree in Dec. 2021, recently received a the Golden Apple Award bestowed to 20 Eau Claire Area School District teachers annually. Rada received the award – given by the Eau Claire Public Schools Foundation, WEAU TV-13 and local businesses – on Feb. 6.

Rada said she was “very surprised” and honored to receive the award which was announced at an all-school assembly. Award winners are nominated by their peers.

“I had no idea what was happening,” Rada, 24, said of receiving the award. “At first, I was kind of confused about what was going on. Then I realized I was receiving this award, and it felt amazing.”

Rada saw a large poster at the assembly congratulating her for receiving the Golden Apple Award. Then school officials announced the honor, and Rada’s second graders and the school’s other students applauded and celebrated.

“Being recognized by my colleagues, it feels really good,” Rada said. “It was really important to get this. It feels really positive, and it had my class really excited.”

Joel Donna, a professor of teacher education at UW-River Falls, said Rada is a credit to the Teacher Education Department that has been preparing educators for the past 149 years.

“The elementary education faculty are so very proud of the work Helen is doing in building meaningful relationships with her students and her community to help make our world a better place," Donna said.

Rada said she tries to get to know her students and discover what they are interested in, then relate that to what they are learning in the classroom. Her peers credit Rada for her dedication to her students and for supporting her teacher and staff colleagues.

Rada grew up in Chippewa Falls and graduated from McDonell Central Catholic High School in 2017. While in high school, she volunteered in an elementary school classroom and worked at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Chippewa Valley-Chippewa Falls Center for five summers.

“I was involved in educational settings with children a lot,” Rada said, “and I think that set me up for being a teacher, for being in an environment where there is always learning going on.”

Rada’s time at UW-River Falls as an education major furthered her wanting to work as an educator. She praised the instruction she received from the university’s faculty, saying it prepared her well for working as a teacher professionally.

“My experiences at UW-River Falls were exactly what I needed to work effectively with children in the classroom,” she said.

Receiving the Golden Apple has meaning to her beyond the award, Rada said.

“It’s really a reminder of the importance of the job I’m doing, how I have this opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of my students,” she said. “I want to make the most of that.”

 

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