Committed to educating the “whole” child, Carol Stein admits her passion “may, at times, stretch beyond my job description.” But when the longtime teacher sees students experiencing emotional or academic problems, she said, “I can’t just sit back and do nothing. I feel they are my kids.”

Stein has dedicated 22 years of her life to teaching, and for her extraordinary accomplishments, she received the Milwaukee Public Schools Excellence in Education Award last month from the Milwaukee Board of School Directors.

In her typically modest style, she said, “Receiving the award is very exciting and a little embarrassing. It’s just what I do. I advocate for our kids. We are doing a good job, but we can always do better.”

She has been on the faculty at MPS’ Barton Elementary School for the last 10 years, and is currently its learning coordinator.

Among her most memorable professional moments, she said, was securing a $200,000 Teach Wisconsin grant that allowed the school to upgrade its computer lab. “It was the first grant I ever wrote. It taught me that you have to start somewhere and just go for it.”

From a personal perspective, Stein said one of her most rewarding was helping to relocate a student from one foster home, where he was not thriving, to another, where he leaped from being a complete non-reader to reading on the tenth-grade level in a matter of months.

“I don’t often get involved in student intervention,” she acknowledged, “but I noticed his weight loss and that he was very withdrawn. After persevering with his social worker, he was placed in another home. I really feel I made a difference for him.”

School principal Norman Mishelow said, “Areas in which Carol has excelled include her ability to bring people to consensus to best serve the academic interests of all students, her work to increase the standardized math scores, her success in building a volunteer program, and her tireless efforts in bringing additional resources to the school.”

He added, “Her success has been due, in large part, to the community partnerships she has brought to Barton that support our long-term goal to provide better-educated citizens to our community.”

Among those partnerships is reaching out to the Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations to provide volunteer tutors to work with students during the school day.

Kathy Heilbronner, MJCCR assistant director, credits the success of the council’s “Milwaukee Jewish Coalition for Literacy” program at Barton to Stein’s enthusiasm and commitment to the volunteers.

“We have some 40 volunteers at Barton, more than any other school, because of her efforts. When she heard about our program, she asked us to send her tutors. She really understands how to use them effectively.”

“I’ve been a reading tutor at Barton for three years,” said Faye Gilbert, “and I know I’m still there because of Carol Stein. Everything she does is a labor of love.”

Gilbert read about the council’s request for tutors in The Chronicle and soon after went through the training. “My only real credentials are that I’m a mother of three teenagers. The concept is important and I really believe in the program.

“Carol is marvelous at matching the tutors and the students. I think she looks at her work as more of a mitzvah than a job. She even had a Shabbat dinner for us at her house to show her appreciation.”

Stein humbly claims that it’s the tutors’ level of commitment that has made a difference in the lives of the students.

“Unless you work in a city school, you don’t know how important it is for a child to spend an hour a week with a literate adult. Building self-image is very important and classroom teachers can’t do it alone. Reading is the foundation for all other learning.”

Mishelow added, “The most important reason she is being recognized as an exemplary educator is that she puts the needs of children above all else. She goes above and beyond to meet the academic, emotional and safety needs of all students, which makes her successful in facilitating individual student growth.”

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