North Central College honors Naperville teacher Josh Stumpenhorst with alumni award

North Central College is honoring Naperville teacher Josh Stumpenhorst with its 2013 Alumni Recognition Award. The award is given to a recent graduate who has excelled in his or her field in a leadership capacity.

He and six others will be honored during the College’s Homecoming Convocation at 4:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at North Central College’s Wentz Concert Hall at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville.

Stumpenhorst is being honored for his achievements as a premier educational professional. He has earned recognition in Illinois and nationally for his contributions to his students, his school and the field of education.

He was named the 2011-2012 Illinois Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education and 2012 Teacher of the Year by the Illinois Education Association. Also in 2012, he was one of 38 public school educators who received the California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for public educators. In 2013, the NEA Foundation recognized Stumpenhorst as a Pearson Foundation Global Learning Fellow.

Stumpenhorst writes about his teaching experiences on a blog he calls Stump the Teacher, which has received EduBlog Awards nominations. He was named to the Emerging Leaders Class of 2011 by the International Society of Technology Educators and is the Illinois Computer Educators’ 2012 Educator of the Year. His Tweeting and blogging about educating youngsters have earned recognition for enlightening other teachers on using social media. He shares his knowledge as professional conferences, school districts and colleges and contributes articles as SmartBrief Education and the EdReach Community.

He remains committed to influencing the youngsters he teaches every day at Lincoln Junior High School in Naperville Community Unit School District 203, serving as the school's athletic director, boys basketball and track coach and computer club advisor. His influence and expertise extends to North Central College's education department, where he has presented to students about technology and is pursuing innovative ways to partner with the College in teacher preparation.

Graduating in 2003 with a degree in social studies and minor in secondary education, he was named the College’s Outstanding Senior Man for 2003 and was a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin champion in the triple jump. He holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and National Board Certification in early adolescence social science.

Stumpenhorst, his wife Christine and their two sons live in Oswego.

Others being honored during North Central’s Homecoming are Outstanding Alumni Award recipients Charles Bartsch of Washington, D.C.; John Giannini, Ph.D., of Mullica Hill, N.J.; Steven Hoeft of Naperville; the Rev. Dr. Tracy Smith-Malone of Aurora; and William Soper, M.D., of Arlington Heights. Wilber C. Harr, Ph.D., will be honored with a posthumous Wall of Witness honor.

Founded in 1861, North Central College is an independent, comprehensive college of the liberal arts and sciences that offers more than 55 undergraduate majors and graduate programming in seven areas. With more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students, North Central College is committed to academic excellence, a climate that emphasizes leadership, ethics, values and service, a curriculum that balances job-related knowledge with a liberal arts foundation and a caring environment with small classes. Visit www.northcentralcollege.edu to learn more.