UW-Whitewater physical education alums named National Teachers of the Year

June 18, 2025

Educators who graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater make a difference at their schools and in their communities.

Of the five National Teachers of the Year announced this spring by SHAPE America — the professional development and advocacy organization for physical education, health education, and adapted PE — two of them called UW-Whitewater home as undergraduate students.

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) — something only 3 percent of teachers nationwide can claim.

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 College of Education and Professional Studies have 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).

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

“Being 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,” said Johnson, who went to school with Lukasavitz at UW-Whitewater and first met Ortiz when she was a student teacher. “It’s a huge honor … they’ll be presenting at this year’s convention in Kansas City, and everyone will get to learn from two of the best teachers our state has to offer.”

Lukasavitz and Ortiz — who each claimed state and district Teacher of the Year honors — advanced through multiple rounds of interviews and voting to be considered for the national awards. As first-generation college students, they experienced similar challenges and triumphs on their journeys to professional excellence.

 

 

A leader to students and peers alike

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.

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.

“She’s doing incredible things,” said Johnson, who assisted Lukasavitz through the award nomination process. “I told her, ‘you’re already doing all these great things, you just need to tell your story.’ She’s innovating and finding ways to bring kids into health and physical education.”

Lukasavitz was chosen from four district honorees as the winner of the Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year.

“It’s gratifying because you really put your heart and soul into your career,” she said. “It’s validating and affirming, but also humbling at the same time … there’s still room to grow.”

Lukasavitz, whose husband, Cal, also graduated from UW-Whitewater, earned her BSE in physical education in 2009. She was encouraged to explore attending UW-Whitewater by a friend and was impressed with the facilities during a campus tour, joining the Warhawk family as a freshman in 2004.

She quickly immersed herself into the campus and community, working as a peer mentor as a sophomore and as a student assistant with Warhawk athletics on campus and as an employee at 841 Brewhouse — formerly Randy’s — in Whitewater. She also was highly involved in intramurals, playing volleyball, basketball, and softball.

“The peer mentor program was crucial to my feeling part of a community from the jump,” Lukasavitz said. “The program helped me feel included and authentically build my leadership skills to mentor people, which is what we do as teachers.”

A physical education major from the time she stepped onto campus, Lukasavitz never wavered in her career pursuit.

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’s Best Practices in Physical and Health Education conference.

Most of all, she enjoys building connections with her students on a daily basis.

“I enjoy helping students find their purpose for moving and find joy in movement so it can transfer beyond middle school,” she said. “One student might like basketball, another student might learn that they enjoy disc golf or being out in nature … I want to help them understand that fitness is for everybody and they can find joy in it.”

 

A service-oriented mentor

Ortiz has impacted hundreds of students during her nearly three-decade run as a teacher and coach.

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 “changed the culture” of the health and physical education department.

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.

“She was supporting (WHPE) members trying to earn National Board Certification, mentoring other interested PE teachers to go through that process,” Johnson said. “She gives back constantly … I’ve enjoyed watching her make a difference at all these different levels.”

Thanks to her hard work and advocacy, Ortiz was named Health Education Teacher — an especially impressive honor since it is not separated out by grade level.

“It’s not about the award itself — it’s about the 27 years that I’ve invested in students,” Ortiz said. “The impact that I’ve made is special to me. The recognition is great, but I really felt like my whole career flashed in front of me.”

A 1998 graduate with a BSE in physical education, Ortiz lauded her support from the schools she’s worked at as well as UW-Whitewater, where she competed in softball and tennis and 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.

Academically, she weighed options in chemistry, education and business during her first two years on campus before homing in on physical education.

“Seeing the purple pride, the Warhawk pride, and like-minded athletes, I felt like I was in the right place,” Ortiz said. “Like athletics, the education department was thriving. I felt prepared when I left college, and not many people can say that.”

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.

“There are a lot of challenges in education today, but celebrating students and putting them first is the top priority,” she said. “If you put kids first in all you do as an educator, you’ll have a great career.”