Susan Kapanke

Southeastern Wisconsin resident, Susan Kapanke is a veteran educator with 34 years of experience teaching high school English. Before embarking on her professional career, Kapanke received a Bachelor of Arts in English and speech from UW-Eau Claire, and earned her Masters of Arts in English and education at the University of Wisconsin. During the three and a half decades that followed, Susan Kapanke taught high school English for Wisconsin's Elkhorn School District, developing and instructing various required and elective courses. Kapanke"s AP English Literature and Composition class was the first Advanced Placement class to be offered at her high school, and she also taught CAPP English, a college-level writing course offered to high school students for college credit, as well as courses in English Literature, Speech, and Literature of Nature and the Environment.

Outside the English classroom, Susan Kapanke has an equally active history of contributions to secondary education. She has participated on educational committees devoted to issues such as response to intervention and site-based management, and she was an adjunct professor affiliated with Aurora University's satellite campus, supervising graduate students working toward secondary certification. Additionally, Kapanke co-wrote a chapter for the book Teaching Writing in High School and College: Conversations and Collaboration, which was published by the National Council of Teachers in 2002 as a tool for teachers as they prepare high school students for college-level writing.

Susan Kapanke is passionate about the role of high school language education in preparing students to lead lives characterized by academic, personal, and professional fulfillment. She understands the nuanced value inherent in strong reading, writing and speaking skills which lead to success in her students' personal and professional lives. Kapanke has taught Sunday school and enjoys spending time with family and friends, visiting museums, and working in her garden.