Four photos in a collage. 1) Three rows of teachers and district staff pose on stage after winning Distinguished Service Awards. 2) A woman in a tie-dye shirt places a gold plastic crown on the head of another woman in a matching shirt. 3) Keynote speaker Dr. Robert Berry points at the crowd while speaking on stage. 4) Four female staff members stand up and cheer in the crowd after their colleague wins an award.

31 staff members honored with Distinguished Service Awards at Opening Day

Wauwatosa School District

August 27, 2026

Wauwatosa School District officially welcomed our amazing teaching staff for the 2026-27 school year at our annual Opening Day event at East High School on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Opening Day is an exciting time to connect with each other, celebrate our accomplishments, and be inspired before the first day of school. Our team heard from keynote speaker Dr. Robert Q. Berry, Dean of the School of Education and Professor of Mathematics Education at Indiana University, who reminded us to be “truly wonderful and getting better” and spoke about the countless small but important decisions teachers make every day.

We also had the honor of celebrating this year's Distinguished Service Award recipients, 31 Wauwatosa School District staff members who were nominated by one or more of their colleagues for exceeding expectations and demonstrating dedicated service to students, families, and staff. 

We are pleased to congratulate the following Distinguished Service Award honorees:

  • Tisa Blake, Administrative Assistant at East High School

  • Renae Burley, Math Teacher at Whitman Middle School

  • Jennie Cottam, Program Coordinator for the Wauwatosa Recreation Department

  • David Drake, Special Education Assistant at Whitman Middle School

  • Amy Fetherston, Math and Computer Science Teacher at West High School

  • Beth Hansen, Reading Teacher at Vel R. Phillips School

  • Abby Henning, School Psychologist at West High School

  • Sheri Johnson, Administrative Assistant for the Division of Human Resources

  • Max Lakatos, Grade 3 Teacher at Washington Elementary School

  • Mary Larson, Special Education Assistant at McKinley Elementary School

  • Sarah Lichey, Science Teacher at Longfellow Middle School

  • Jeff Ludowissi, School Psychologist at Jefferson Elementary School and Whitman Middle School

  • Amy McGarry, Special Education Teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School

  • Guillermo "Memo" Merino Herrera, Building Supervisor at Whitman Middle School

  • Rochelle Meulemans, Grade 4 Teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School

  • Carie Miller, Health Room Clerical Assistant at Wilson Elementary School

  • Janice Morgan, Administrative Assistant at East High School

  • Mackenzie Novitski, ELA Teacher at Whitman Middle School (formerly at Eisenhower Elementary School)

  • Nicole Nowicki, Science and STEM Teacher at Longfellow Middle School

  • Annie Palazzolo, Administrative Assistant at Longfellow Middle School

  • Felicia Perkins, Social Worker at West High School

  • Bridget Rindfleisch, Grade 4/5 Teacher at Underwood Elementary School

  • Megan Sampson, English Teacher at East High School

  • Liz Scheer, Senior Kindergarten Teacher at Eisenhower Elementary School

  • Aaron Sobieszczyk, Special Education Assistant at Wilson Elementary School

  • Serena Tajkarimi, Grade 1 Teacher at Underwood Elementary School

  • Matt Troilo, Associate Principal at Whitman Middle School

  • Amanda Voigtlander, Speech and Language Pathologist for the Wauwatosa School District

  • Alicia Webb, Career Center/Testing Coordinator at West High School

  • Mary Westphal, Alternative Education Teacher for the Champions Program

  • Elana Zykan, Math Teacher at Whitman Middle School

We are so proud of these outstanding team members!