Isyjean P. Korenek of Rockdale, Texas, has recently been recognized by America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals as a Professional of the Year 2016 for her outstanding contributions and achievements in the field of Reading and Language Education. She has also been inducted into the Top Female Executives and Leaders program. She will continue her rise to prominence in 2017 as well, following the recent announcement of her acceptance as a Lifetime Roundtable Member, an extremely coveted position available to only a small handful of Roundtable mainstays. Isyjean Korenek is being recognized with a special appearance in Times Square, NYC, where she will appear on the world renowned digital billboards.
Ms. Korenek has a 35+ year career in education beginning as an employee of the Rockdale ISD in August, 1980. She received her B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Texas at Austin. Her first teaching assignment was with Thorndale ISD which lasted 3 years. From there she was transferred to the Mary Lee School Campus where she stayed for 5 years until 1988. Ms. Korenek's expertise is in General Elementary Education and Elementary Speech (grades 1 through 8), as well as Generic Special Education, Emotionally Disturbed and/or Behavioral Disordered, and Mentally Retarded Special Education (grades 1 through 12). Aside from in-school teaching, she also taught homebound students from the Rockdale High and Junior High Schools in their homes, since they were unable to attend classes on campus. Her present and past titles include: Resource Teacher -- grades 1 through 12 (3 years) and grades 3 through 5 (5 years); Residential Treatment School Teacher -- grades 2 through 12 (6 years); Children's Psychiatric Hospital Summer School Teacher of the Behavior Disordered / Emotionally Disturbed -- grades 3 through 5 (1 summer); Homebound Teacher --grades 3 through 12 (2 years); 4th-Grade Teacher (8 years); Reading Interventionist -- grades 3 -- 5 (past 15 years); UIL Coordinator for Cameron Elementary and Ben Milam Elementary Schools (past 15 years).
Her special trainings include: Shirley Crook Workshops; Dr. Ruby Payne Workshops; New Jersey Writing Project Texas Three-Week Summer Institute; NJWPT "Reading Week"; NJWPT "Grammar Week"; NJWT "Poetry Week"; 6 + 1 Writing Process Workshops; Tribes TLC Training Workshops; Project Mustard Seed Three-Week Academy; Appelbaum Training Institute's "How to Handle the Hard to Handle Student" Workshop; Process Writing Workshops; Creative Education Institute Workshops; Get Ready, Get Set, Get Prepared the (Texas) TAKS Reading Test Workshops -- Presented by Cheryl Cox Educational Consultants; TAKS Holistic Writing Scoring Trainings; Write Traits Course Workshop; "Under the Big Top" How to Incorporate Writing Into The Reading Center Schedule Workshop; Cambium Expanded Learning Groups' Voyager Sopris Learning and Explore Learning Institutes; Pearson Education, Inc.'s AIMSweb Training Course; Differentiated Instruction for All Learners: "Strategies that Work" Training (presented by Stetson & Associates); 3rd-Grade Texas Reading Academy; 4th-Grade Texas Reading Academy; 5th-Grade Texas Reading Academy; Getting Started With Balanced Literacy & Guided Reading Workshop; numerous "Reading First" Training Workshops; Best Practices in Instruction for English Language Learners Workshops; ELA Alignment Training Workshop; Enhanced Instruction for English Language Learners – Sheltered Instruction Workshop; Overview of the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) Workshop; Linguistic Diversity and Second Language Development Workshop; Title III, ELL Summer Institutes (5 years); Destination Imagination's "Coaching and Judging Creative Problem Solving" Trainings; Wilson Language Training Academy's Just Words and Fundations workshops; Technology Essentials for Educators Training; Project Share Overview & ePortfolio Trainings; Instructional Technology Academy: Project Based Learning, Flipped Classroom, & Web 2.0 Workshop; Instructional Technology Session – It's a Web 2.0 World workshop; Introduction to iPad Texas Virtual Learning Center Course; Instructional Technology iPads Workshop; SMART Training Workshop for SMART Board TM interactive whiteboards; Summer Technology Academies (4 years);Understanding the Importance of Non-Verbal Communication Workshop; Advanced Academic Services G/T Institutes (yearly); Kagan Structures for Cooperative Learning & Active Engagement Workshops; The Brain Research & Instruction Training; Professional Development Assessment System (PDAS) Annual
Review for Teachers Online Courses; (yearly) Texas Test Administrator Modules Online Trainings; Legal Issues of Special Education Law: "The IDEA and the Reality" Workshop; Making the ARD (Admission, Review, Dismissal) Process Work for Schools Workshop; "Study Island" Computer-Based Instruction Training; Texas Virtual Learning Center Course: Professional Development Assessment System Sexual Harassment for Teachers; Texas State Teachers' Association's TEPAC Interview and Endorsement Training; Domestic Violence Advocacy Training.
Her present position is that of a Reading Interventionist.
Ms. Korenek is a member of numerous associations (present and past) including: Texas State Teachers' Association; National Education Association; Milam County Educators' Association (President); Cameron Educators' Association (President); Association of Children With Learning Disabilities; Texas Council for Children With Behavioral Disorders; Rockdale Parent Teacher Association; Cameron Parent Teacher Organization; International Reading Association; Little River Reading Council; Delta Kappa Gamma Society International; Lambda Psi Chapter of Delta Kappa Gama (Parliamentarian). She is also affiliated with Rockdale Young Homemakers (President); Rockdale Community Choir (Member/ Soloist); Girl Scouts of the USA ( 28-year Member); Lone Star Girl Scout Council (Trainer); Rockdale Girl Scout Neighborhood Association (Chairman / Troop Leader / Day Camp Director); Texas Jewish Historical Society (Presenter); Temple Israel inSchulenburg, Texas (Cantor / Member); Grand Lodge of the Sons of Herman – formally the Rockdale and now the Cameron Chapter 410, (Member / Trustee); United Daughters of the Confederacy – Shropshire – Upton Chapter 361, (Member).
Her numerous awards include: Lone Star Girl Scout Council: Plaque for 25-Year Affiliation; Plaque for 10 Years as Neighborhood Chairman; Selected Delegate to the "Girl Scouting in a Rural Setting Conference" held in Little Rock, Arkansas (Presenter); TSTA: Selected Delegate to numerous State Democratic Conventions; Selected Delegate to the NEA Convention in Dallas, TX; Selected Member to the TSTA's Political Action Interview and Endorsement Team / Committee; Delegate to numerous Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Texas State Organization Conventions; Rockdale Chamber of Commerce: Plaque -- in recognition her effort, as Rockdale Young Homemaker Chapter President, to get two Rockdale City Markers constructed and donated to the city;City of Rockdale's Chairperson of the City Park Restoration Committee; Rockdale ISD: 5-year tenure pin; St. Joseph Baby Alumni Club of St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, Texas; Cameron Elementary School 2009—2010 T.E.A. (Texas Education Agency) Recognized School Award "Mrs. Frizzle" Award for the 1992 –1993 School Year; Teacher of the Month for December, 2006; Cameron ISD: 5, and 10-year, tenure pins; 15 , 20, & 25-year, tenure plaques; pins in recognition of both the Cameron Elementary School 2009 --2010 T.E.A. (Texas Education Agency) Recognized School Award and the Cameron Elementary School 2010 – 2011 T.E.A. Recognized School Award; Cameron Elementary School's 2015 Teacher of the Year Plaque; Retirement Plaque (in recognition of 35 years in Education of which 27 years was spent teaching in the Cameron Independent School District).
Ms. Korenek has many published works to her credit including: "Growing Up Jewish in Schulenburg, Texas" article, published in the "Texas Jewish Historical Society Newsletter"; "Getting Jiggy With It" article, published during a New Jersey Writing Project of Texas Three-week Writing Institute; Instructional Unit for the Austin ISD, entitled: "Hummingbirds"; Instructional Unit for the Rockdale ISD, entitled: "Feeling and a Dealing."
Presentations: "Growing Up Jewish in Schulenburg, Texas" Article presented at a meeting of the Jewish Historical Society held at Temple Israel in Schulenburg, Texas; School Board Presentations in both the Rockdale ISD and in the Cameron ISD, Texas Professional Development Workshops in the Thorndale, theRockdale, and the Cameron ISDs.
Trainer: Cambium Expanded Learning Group's: Journeys, Computer-Based Instruction Training, for Cameron Junior High Reading Teachers.
Host: Radio coverage of Meet the Candidates Forum
Spouse: William E. Korenek, deceased
Children (2) & Spouses: Denise Renae Korenek Meyer, Harvey Joe Meyer, Darrell Lynn Korenek, and Miki Moerbe Korenek
Grandchildren (6) & Spouses (2): Christina Renae Korenek Cloud, Casey Lee Cloud, Parker Lynn Korenek,Allison Nichole Mesecke Korenek. Abigail Leigh Korenek, Ashley Nichole Meyer, Britny Dawn Meyer, and Dustin Vaughn Meyer.
Additional Family Information: Mrs. Korenek's husband—William (Willie) Korenek—was first employed by Thermal Engineering Corporation in Houston, Texas, where he worked constructing commercial air conditioning and heating units. In 1963, the couple moved to Rockdale, Texas, where Willie became an employee of Company of America ( Alcoa ) at its largest smelter in the world -- Rockdale Works--where he first worked as a craneman in the potrooms. Soon he was promoted to a potroom foreman. Then Willie was transferred to the Environmental Control Depart where he was put in charge of the all the air pollution equipment and the air pollution bag changing crews. Later Willie was put in charge of starting up Alcoa's patiented air pollution systems in new aluminum smelters located in Canada, in Mexico, and in South America. He also became a member of a U.S. Environmental Control Team, as well as an International Environmental Control Team. Willie also served as one of three Alcoa's Tour Bus drivers and Tour Guides. He narrated the tours as he drove through both the smelter and the mine area and answered tourists' questions both during the tour and after he served them refreshments at the Alcoa Lake Training Center and showed them a video Alcoa's smelting and mining processes. Willie retired from Alcoa after 32 years of service. Soon he became employed by Rockdale Independent School District, where he worked for 14 years, first as a school bus driver and later as Rockdale ISD's Transportation Manager. Willie's final bus / van driving job was with "The Hop"--a company that transported elderly or disabled residents of Rockdale and towns in the surrounding area, who were unable to drive for themselves, to and from doctors' appointments, hospital stays, in Rockdale and in cities in Texas as far north as the Dallas/Fort Worth area, as far south as Houston and Victoria, and as far west as Austin. Willie also drove clients to and from local pharmacies, grocery stores, Walmart, even to beauty shop appointments.
