Elizabeth Jorgensen M.Ed. '09
2017 Recipient for the Graduate of the Last Decade Award
Elizabeth Jorgensen teaches in a way that captures attention and inspires many to work on improving their overall writing skills. Described as an innovator in education and a tireless instructor, she leaves her students at the end of each class wanting to come back for more at Arrowhead High School in Hartland, Wisconsin.
She currently works in the English Language Arts department teaching classes including Composition, Advanced Composition, College Strategies, Creative Writing, Journalism and Writing Intervention.
Working as a professional coach, she helps teachers improve their craft through the Educator Effectiveness process. Jorgensen takes part in the Arrowhead Technology Team, Website Redesign Team, and Professional Development Committee. She also teaches ACT writing prep and is advisor to the literary magazine and school newspaper.
Jorgensen regularly speaks for the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) and has served as a keynote speaker at three different conferences. She has had multiple works published in places such as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Azalea (Harvard's Journal on Korean Literature & Culture), the Wisconsin English Journal and the Children's Hospital and Health System.
Each year, the Milwaukee Public Museum holds a poetry contest open to all Wisconsin students. In 2016, of the four hundred-plus submissions submitted from classrooms throughout the state, all three of the high school winners came from Jorgensen's class. She also had three winners picked from the previous year's competition, and one winner picked from the 2013-2014 competition.
Jorgensen also encourages her students to take part in the Sejong Cultural Society's writing competition. The competition challenges students to learn and write in a Korean poetic form called sijo. The 2016 Society's national first place winner and an honorable mention came from Jorgensen's class.
In recognition of submissions by Jorgensen's students into a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel essay contest, Arrowhead High School was selected for the 2016 Defining Freedom Assembly. The assembly featured speeches by Jonathan Lucroy and members of the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. They also premiered the 2016 Defining Freedom Honor Flight movie at Arrowhead Union High School.
Jorgensen has received over 30 awards and honors. She was recognized by PBS for her innovation in Language Arts and English, and was inducted into the CBS and Walmart Teachers' Hall of Fame. She was also selected for Arrowhead High School's 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year, the Jarvis E. Bush Award in 2011 for successful techniques in teaching composition and the Lucille S. Pooley Award.
Jorgensen has kept her ties to Carroll strong, involving herself in the Project Pioneer Program and Horizontes en Carroll as an instructor helping increase college readiness. The programs help develop personal skills through ACT prep workshops and college essay writing sessions. She is known as one of the most reliable and committed instructors actively involved in the planning process. Students consistently rate her as engaging, helpful and understanding.
Jorgensen received her bachelor's degree in journalism and education from Marquette University in 2005 and obtained her master's degree in education from Carroll in 2009.