EDGEFIELD, S.C. – Third-grade teacher Janine Kopera was merely looking for some lesson ideas to tie in with Thanksgiving when she stumbled upon the NWTF’s web site.

Eight years later, the Melvindale, Mich., teacher is renowned for successfully teaching her suburban students about conservation through an educational unit she built around the NWTF’s Wild About Turkey Education Box.

In recognition of her efforts, the NWTF selected Kopera as the NWTF’s 2011 Educator of the Year. Kopera also won the NWTF’s Educator of the Year Award for Michigan. She is a former Wayne County Elementary Teacher of the Year. Read more