Teachers of the Month (March) | RENTON ROTARY

Published 12:20 pm Friday, April 1, 2016

As part of their commitment to education, and to celebrate teachers in the Renton School District, each month members of the Rotary Club of Renton selects a few teachers as Teachers of the Month.

Casey Chalupa is a fifth grade teacher at Bryn Mawr Elementary School. Chalupa attended Cal Poly, Pomona in California, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and continued to earn a master’s in education. She also earned National Board Certification in Literacy: Reading-Language Art/Early and Middle Childhood. She has also taught sixth grade in Beaumont, Calif. and Birmingham, Ala. Chalupa has been a teacher in Renton for eight years.

Courtney Luecke is a fifth grade teacher at Hazelwood Elementary School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Concordia University located in Austin, Texas. While she was in college, she worked at Pei Wei Asian Diner for six years. Luecke also has experience teaching kindergarten and first grade. She is currently in her fifth year teaching in Renton.

Elaina Piper is a family and consumer science teacher at McKnight Middle School. She attended Central Washington University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences education and, in the fall, she is planning to pursue a master’s program in curriculum and instruction. Before teaching in Renton, Piper was a long term substitute at Ellensburg High School where she also taught family and consumer science classes. Piper is now in her third year teaching in Renton.

As part of the recognition, teachers attend Rotary’s Teacher of the Month recognition luncheon held at the Maplewood Gold Course. Each teacher is introduced, makes a brief comment about their school and classroom, and receives $200 to be used for classroom supplies or instructional materials.