The MCSD Employee Recognition Award is for those employees who go above and beyond on a continual basis for students, staff, and/or parents. Nominations can come from community members, parents, and staff members. The district will be recognizing employees monthly in their buildings as well as at the televised board meeting.

The district would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you and congratulate October’s best of the best at MCSD!

Patty Freese – Custodian at MHS
Nominated by: Mike Morgan, Lynn Ralston, and Becky Eserhaut.

“Patty is an outstanding person and a great employee. She is always pleasant to any person she sees in MHS, this includes students, staff, parents and community members. Patty not only does the work she is asked to do but she goes above and beyond. Patty cleans MHS as if she is cleaning her house for guests. She demonstrates great pride in all she does. She is a role model for students and staff. I am glad to be able to work with Patty.” Mike Morgan

“Patty did an amazing job at West Middle School keeping our classrooms clean and being responsive to anything we needed. I loved that she took the time to get to know students, tried to comfort them when they were upset, and was wiling to drop what she was doing to help the child. Patty truly went above and beyond our expectations.” Lynn Ralston

“Patty Freese is more than a custodian in MCSD. When I taught at West Middle School, Patty kept the locker rooms and gym extraordinarily clean. That is not all she did though. She always had a smile on her face and would pause what she was doing to help any teacher or student. I would see her in the halls asking students how their day was or lending an ear to listen to their problems. After school hours, she was visible helping out with activities, which included showing people how to get to the gym, setting up and taking down equipment.



Presently, she works the night shift at MHS. She also subs as needed during the day shift all over the district. I have watched her at Madison and Colorado go out of her way to help students and teachers. One day in particular, she noticed a young boy whose sole of his shoe was coming off. After checking with his teacher, she took him aside and put a temporary “duct tape fix” on his shoe. With her kind words and smiles, that young man believed he had a pretty “cool” shoe when she was done. Patty not only deserves to be recognized for her long hours of dedicated work, but also for the endless smiles and acts of kindness she gives to everyone she meets on a daily basis.” Becky Eserhaut


Nancy Schuler – Paraprofessional at Madison
Nominated by: Debi Welk and Angela Joseph.

“Nancy Schuler is a para professional that consistently goes above and beyond to meet the needs of parents and students at Madison School. Madison has been fortunate to have a professional like Nancy Schuler in the front office. She is very helpful, friendly, and welcoming to all who enter the building. She has done a great job in taking on additional duties to make Madison run smoothly. Nancy supervises our breakfast program and makes sure that dismissal procedures work well at the end of the school day. Nancy helps K-2 graders throughout the school day in classrooms as a very professional seasoned para and well-respected by the teaching staff. We are fortunate to have a professional like Nancy Schuler in the Muscatine Community School District.” Debi Welk

“Mrs. Schuler has gone above and beyond to assist my 2 sons while they attended Madison with her kind, warm words and gentle smile. She was particularly helpful to my youngest son who has since been diagnosed with Ashbergers’ Syndrome. Although she was not his classroom teacher, he still remembers and speaks of her kindness towards him and others. Due to his fine motor skills issue, she helped him with snowsuit and boots (which was not encouraged by his then kindergarten teacher). While I volunteered at the school for 6 years, I have seen her do this for many other children. Mrs. Schuler deserves this award.” Angela Joseph

Blanca Herrera – Paraprofessional at West Middle School
Nominated by Krista Regennitter.

“Blanca has gone above and beyond in helping with the Juntos: Together for a Better Education program. Since August 2014 she has taken the lead in recruiting youth at both middle schools and their families to participate in the program, often spending her own time following-up with families to help them understand the program and potential benefits. She is a trusted ally to families, and her connections have been invaluable to our program. Blanca also became a trained facilitator for Juntos, working with us to offer the five-session family workshop series. Blanca volunteered her time in April 2016 to chaperone a group of youth at a weekend long leadership retreat at the 4-H state camp. Blanca also volunteers on our Juntos Advisory Committee. Blanca’s involvement has been key to our success to date. We appreciate her passion for youth and families in the Muscatine community.” Krista Regennitter

Lisa McKee – 3rd Grade Teacher at Grant Elementary
Nominated by Lisa Paul.

“Lisa McKee is very deserving of this award. She volunteers to do the LEAD meeting for the months of August and September when usually only one month is required. She does an amazing job with the LEAD meeting every morning and teaches students the expected behaviors for around the school. 
She is also about the first one to school everyday and the last one to leave every night. She puts so much of her own time into planning instruction, collaborating with others, etc. Lisa is truly one of those teachers who are irreplaceable and holds a special place in the hearts of all the staff and students she comes into contact with. I strive to be as dedicated a teacher as Lisa!” Lisa Paul

Rachel Hansen – Social Studies Teacher at MHS
Nominated by Alison Anson.

“I would like to recognize Rachel Hansen for all her work she does for students and staff at the high school. Rachel is always willing to go above and beyond to meet the needs of anyone who goes to her. She assists new teachers to create processes for classroom organization and models how to set up her classroom culture with students at the beginning of the year with any teacher who wishes to stop in. She invites teachers to meet with her before or after school on any topic of their choice. Anytime she is free you can find teachers and students in her room getting assistance in a variety of different ways. Career teachers, even other model teachers, drop in and observe her class to see how she structures her classroom norms to find takeaways they can implement into their classrooms. 


Rachel’s new staff development model she is implementing, for our staff, is the #ObserveMe protocol. Her door is always open.” Alison Anson

Thank you to Sprouse Distributing for co-sponsoring the Recognizing Excellence Awards!

To nominate an employee: MCSD Employee Recognition Form

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