Wheaton Warrenville teachers honored with classroom supplies

Julie Schubert, a first-grade teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School in Wheaton, knew it would be a great day when she arrived and saw three butterflies finally had hatched from the chrysalis her students had been watching.

She had no idea her day would only go up from there.

Schubert was one of two Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 teachers to be awarded Tuesday with $1,000 worth of classroom supplies as part of the seventh annual OfficeMax A Day Made Better advocacy program to help erase teacher-funded classrooms. Renee Urbanski, an ELL/bilingual teacher at Johnson Elementary in Warrenville, also was honored.

“Here I am, all giddy and happy because our butterflies hatched, and, next thing I know, a bunch of people in orange T-shirts come busting in with balloons, flowers and a huge box,” Schubert said. “I'm overwhelmed and very humbled today. I just do what I need to do to make sure all my kids succeed.”

Hawthorne Principal Danielle Moran said she nominated Schubert for the time she puts into building relationships with her students and their families.

“This is her third year teaching at Hawthorne but only her first year teaching first grade and she's done an unbelievable job,” Moran said. “She deserves all of the supplies and goodies.”

Each teacher's box included a new leather chair, a digital camera, an e-reader, a label maker and more markers than she knows what to do with.

“After our students, there is nothing we teachers love more than a huge box of office supplies,” Schubert said.

Urbanski, a 14-year Johnson teacher, agreed, calling the experience “Christmas in October.”

Urbanski said she, like many of her peers, has spent her own money on several occasions, which makes the box of supplies an even better gift.

“We want our kids to have a learning experience that is both exciting and engaging so that often means dipping into my own funds to make that possible,” she said. “It's all worth it. We do whatever it takes.”

Johnson Principal Derick Edwards nominated her for that “whatever it takes” spirit and said he was happy to see her efforts recognized.

“When you are in a school with such a high free- and reduced-lunch population, it is easy to get overlooked,” Edwards said. Urbanski's efforts “are impossible to be overlooked so we're all very happy for her.”

Since 2007, A Day Made Better and other OfficeMax Goodworks programs have contributed more than $25 million in grants and supplies to support more than 31,000 teachers and their classrooms.