Bob Srack was in the Manhattan High School class of 1944. He was a student athlete who excelled in football, basketball and track (he was the quarterback for MHS when they won their first league championship). He was also Associate Editor of the Blue M yearbook. In the spring of 1944, as they were all turning 18, 10 classmates decided to all enlist together. Mr. Srack and another classmate joined the Marine Corps, the other 8 joined the Navy. Mr. Srack served in World War II and died on May 6, 1946 while serving his country. He is buried in Manhattan at Sunset Cemetery.

The Bob Srack Excellence in Teaching awards were established in 1981 by an anonymous donor to honor the memory of Bob Srack. Each year the district presents one elementary teacher and one secondary teacher with the Bob Srack Excellence in Teaching award. The recipients receive a cash award and an engraved marble apple. Thank you to the Manhattan-Ogden Public Schools Foundation for their support of these awards.

2024 winners

• Megan Montoya, Amanda Arnold Elementary School
• Jackson Fike, Eisenhower Middle School
• Marlene Gomez, Eugene Field Early Learning Center

See Past Award Winners

Since 1991, USD 383 has been honoring 5 outstanding employees as Classified Employees of the Year. All of the employees nominated in these categories are outstanding individuals who give 100% each day. Each of them plays an important role in the district and in the education of our students.

The award winners are given a cash award from the Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 Foundation and an engraved marble apple. Thank you to Community First National Bank for sponsoring the Classified Employee of the Year Awards.

2024 Winners

• Laurie Roland – Child Nutrition
• Tiarra Harris – Custodial/Maintenance
• Misti Reid – Office Professional
• Kay Schlotzhauer – Educational Support
• Lauran Jackson – Transportation

See Past Award Winners

This award recognizes an outstanding USD 383 social worker, counselor, nurse, speech therapist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or gifted teacher. Thank you to Courser-Lapo Clinical and Family Services for sponsoring this award.

Award Winners

• 2020 – Mindi Sturm, Nurse
• 2021 – Jessica Sholin, Social Worker
• 2022 – Angela Bird, Nurse
• 2023 – Meagan Klein, School Psychologist
• 2024 – Terri Little, Occupational Therapist

The Horizon Award program allows all school districts in the state an opportunity to nominate one elementary and one secondary teacher for the award. To be eligible for a Horizon Award, teachers must have successfully completed their first year of teaching and have performed in such a way as to distinguish themselves as outstanding. The Horizon Award program is a regional competition with four regions corresponding to the state's U.S. Congressional districts. Four elementary and four secondary classroom teachers may be selected for the award from each region.

Award Winners

• DeAnne Anderson – 2003
• Erin Pittenger – 2005
• Wes Pike – 2006
• Usha Reddi – 2006
• Benji George – 2009
• Jesse Peters – 2013
• Allison MacGill – 2014
• Taylor Gros – 2018
• Lisa Pluff – 2020
• Sally Lopez – 2023
• Derek Davidson – 2023
• Ashlyn Kuhlmann – 2024

Emporia State University established the Kansas Master Teacher awards in 1953. The awards are presented annually to teachers who have served the profession long and well and who also typify the good qualities of earnest and conscientious teachers.

Candidates for the awards are typically nominated by local teacher associations and school faculties. More than one individual may be nominated from a school or U.S.D.; however, only one person from a U.S.D. will be selected as a Master Teacher. In February, selection of seven award recipients is made by a committee. The committee is comprised of the president or designated representative of the following educational organizations: Kansas-National Education Association, Kappa Delta Pi-International Honor Society in Education, Kansas State Board of Education, Kansas Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, Kansas Association of School Boards, Kansas Congress of Parents and Teachers, Kansas Division of the American Association of University Women, and United School Administrators. Two Master Teachers from the previous year also serve on the committee.

Award Winners

• Ruth Socolofsky – 1961
• Mary Hunholz – 1964
• Leona Velen – 1972
• Charlotte Doyle – 1976
• William Warner – 1979
• Patricia Tippin – 1982
• Doris Velen – 1983
• Joan Spiker – 1984
• Bob Anderson – 1985
• Jill Burk – 1986
• Roger Brannan – 1987
• Carol Adams – 1988
• Irma Jean Fallon – 1992
• Mickey Bogart – 1993
• Myron Schwinn – 1994
• Pat Lamb – 1995
• Doyle Barnes – 1996
• Lisa Bietau – 1997
• Mary Hemphill – 1999
• Chris Herald – 2002
• Ken Garwick – 2005
• Shelley Faerber-Camba - 2007
• Deb Nauerth – 2008
• Lou Ann Getz – 2010
• Sonda Copeland – 2011
• Dr. Shelley Aistrup – 2012
• Barbara Clark – 2015
• Deanna Burton – 2018
• Dedra Braxmeyer - 2019

National Board Certification is a symbol of professional teaching excellence. A certificate will attest that a teacher was judged by his or her peers as one who is accomplished, makes sound professional judgments about students' best interests and acts effectively on those judgments. Offered on a voluntary basis, National Board Certification complements, but does not replace, state licensing. While state licensing systems set entry-level standards for novice teachers, National Board Certification establishes advanced standards for experienced teachers.

National Board Certification measures a teacher's practice against high and rigorous standards through an extensive series of performance-based assessments that includes teaching portfolios, student work samples, videotapes and thorough analyses of the candidate's teaching and students' learning. They also complete a series of written exercises that probe the depth of their subject-matter knowledge, as well as their understanding of how to teach those subjects to their students.

Certification is voluntary and open to anyone with a baccalaureate degree and three years of classroom experience in either a public or private school. It is valid for 10 years, after which a teacher must seek renewal.

Teachers who have participated in National Board Certification have overwhelmingly stated it is the most powerful professional development experience of their careers. And National Board Certified Teachers are making positive changes in their classrooms, in their school districts, and in the larger education community. The recognition, visibility, new roles and growth of the numbers of National Board Certified Teaches are affecting not only their classrooms, but also the culture of schools where they work. They are affecting how teachers are viewed by everyone from the education policy establishment to parents in the community.

View the National Board Certification Directory on the National Board Certification website.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools award affirms the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging content. A National Blue Ribbon School flag gracing a school's entryway or on a flagpole is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning. National Blue Ribbon Schools are an inspiration and a model for schools still striving for excellence. With its 40th cohort of awardees, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed more than 10,000 awards to over 9,700 schools, with some schools winning multiple awards.

Three Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 schools have earned the National Blue Ribbon Award. 

• Northview Elementary School – 1987-88
• Ogden Elementary School – 2014
• Lee Elementary School – 2018