StoryRecognitions (Employee of the Month)May 19, 2026
Kimberly Lane Administrative Professional Honored as Employee of the Month
Denise Kurzwinski was recognized by Wayzata Public Schools for her outstanding dedication and positive impact at Kimberly Lane Elementary.
Published Jun 16, 2026
Wayzata Public Schools publicly celebrated the invaluable contributions of one of its dedicated staff members this week, naming Denise Kurzwinski, an Administrative Professional at Kimberly Lane Elementary, as Employee of the Month. The recognition took place during the Board of Education Work Session held on Monday, May 18, 2026, highlighting her significant role in fostering a supportive school environment.
Kurzwinski, who serves a vital function in the daily operations and overall welcoming atmosphere of Kimberly Lane Elementary, was praised for her unwavering commitment and the positive spirit she instills among staff and students alike. Her commendation underscored the district's appreciation for employees who consistently demonstrate excellence and go above and beyond in their service to the community.
It's a fun place to work. Great staff. They make it so enjoyable. Support I mean they support me as well, too, and I just enjoy working for the Waunakee School District and Kimberly Lane. Thank you.
Dr. Carrie Wermer, Principal of Kimberly Lane Elementary, acknowledged Kurzwinski's recognition during her opening remarks for the school's spotlight presentation later in the session. Dr. Wermer highlighted the dynamic changes her school experienced this academic year, making Kurzwinski's consistent dedication even more impactful.
Members of the board, thank you so much for having us. I'm so glad that we get to do this maiden voyage of a work study session, and I believe that that's perfect because as was mentioned with Ms. Krzinski being our employee of the month, a third of our student body was new to us this year, and a third of our staff was new to us. So I think it's great that we also get a new type of presentation to spotlight us. So thank you for that opportunity.
Other Topics from This Document
Introductions
School Spotlight Presentation (Kimberly Lane Elementary)
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Kurzwinski's heartfelt sentiments about enjoying her work and feeling supported by her colleagues reflect the strong sense of community at Kimberly Lane. This positive environment is particularly crucial given that approximately one-third of both the student body and staff were new to the school this year, largely due to boundary changes. Her dedication to fostering a welcoming and supportive atmosphere directly contributes to the smooth transition for these new members and the overall well-being of the school. The recognition serves as a testament to the vital role administrative professionals play in supporting educational excellence within the district.
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Areas of Interest (5)
Wayzata Public Schools holding a work session to accommodate Memorial Day, rescheduling from the fourth Monday of the month.
Kimberly Lane Elementary's proactive approach to welcoming a significant influx of new students and staff due to boundary changes.
The success and impact of a new investment club at Kimberly Lane Elementary, including student achievements and community involvement.
The integration of financial literacy as a state standard and its implementation across different school levels within Wayzata Public Schools.
Employee of the Month recognition highlighting dedication and impact within an elementary school setting.
Notable Quotes (28)
It's a fun place to work. Great staff. They make it so enjoyable. Support I mean they support me as well, too, and I just enjoy working for the Waunakee School District and Kimberly Lane. Thank you.
Employee RecognitionExpressing gratitude after receiving Employee of the Month recognition.
members of the board, thank you so much for having us. I'm so glad that we get to do this maiden voyage of a work study session, and I believe that that's perfect because as was mentioned with Ms. Krzinski being our employee of the month, a third of our student body was new to us this year, and a third of our staff was new to us. So I think it's great that we also get a new type of presentation to spotlight us. So thank you for that opportunity.
Meeting Structure and School IntroductionOpening remarks about the work session and the school spotlight presentation.
And the investment club is the first time that we've done that. So as you can see, we've got some eager um students who'll be sharing that later on.
Investment ClubIntroducing the investment club as a new initiative at Kimberly Lane Elementary.
One of the good things we did in order to welcome in all of our new families and all of our new students is actually about a year ago, um last week, um we invited all of the new students to come to our building. And what you can see is we made a slide for each one of them. So when they did the scavenger hunt around our building, um they got the warm welcome with their name on it.
Student Welcoming InitiativesDescribing a welcome initiative for new students due to boundary changes.
One of the things that has for an instructional choice that you can make that has the most impact is asking students to self-evaluate their work. And so, that's something that we leaned leaned into. It was a lot of figuring that out of having students self-evaluate themselves according to criteria to figure that out.
Instructional StrategiesDiscussing instructional strategies focused on student self-evaluation.
And then our student experience goal, one of the things that we were looking at is having students using calming strategies. Uh cuz we know that emotions are the gateway to learning, and if you're feeling anxious, if you're feeling frustrated, if you're feeling that you need to figure out how to get yourself into a zone where you can actually do the learning.
Student Well-beingExplaining the focus on student calming strategies for learning.
He looked up from the page and he said, "I'm doing it. I'm doing it, Mrs. Knutson. And I'm really doing it.
Student Success in ReadingA student's reaction upon successfully reading text.
The game is each kid has a portfolio of roughly $100,000, and the idea is just to grow it as much as possible, um, and hopefully maybe get into the top five by the deadline in April, um, to make the award ceremony.
Investment ClubExplaining the premise and goals of the stock market game for the investment club.
It was actually sparked from a community member and parent at our school who does this type of thing for a living. So, we did get started, I want to say 3 to 4 weeks after he brought up the idea.
Investment Club OriginDescribing the origin of the investment club idea.
A short-term goal would be a thing that I would sell really quickly because it's not really doing well. Okay. And then what would be a long-term goal that you might have? A long-term goal would be a stock that I would hold for a long time.
Financial LiteracyDefining short-term and long-term goals in the context of investing.
For short-term, um, cut your losses. And then for long-term, let the winners run.
Investment StrategiesSharing helpful phrases learned about managing investments.
Oh, good. I got second place in the whole club. Which is amazing. And the whole club meaning like how many people? I mean like for the whole state? Like 800. Yes. Out of 800 and some portfolios, number two.
Investment Club ResultsReporting his success in the investment club competition.
And, um, the time in the market is greater than timing the market.
Investment PrinciplesSharing an investment principle learned.
Um I invested in the company of Target because like sometimes my family shops there, so I know it.
Investment DecisionsExplaining a reason for investing in a particular company.
We found Kelechi was up over 150% within a couple of weeks. And this was a company that we did not know about. She found out all on her own. So, that was super super cool.
Investment Club SuccessHighlighting a student's exceptional investment performance and initiative.
Um it's mostly about like Costco, it's a bigger company, so it has less risk of like going down. Mhm. And like a bigger company or a smaller company like Micron um has a higher risk of like going down and me losing money. And it also has a good risk of going up in money for me to win.
Investment Risk AssessmentExplaining the concept of assessing risk in investments, contrasting large and small companies.
Um go big or go home.
Investment StrategyStating his initial approach to the investment game.
It's where you spread all your money over all the companies. Like you don't put all your money in just one company, you put it in like a lot so you can gain more instead of just having it in one.
Investment DiversificationDefining diversification in investment portfolios.
And the first thing he did is he turned to me and said, "Dad, can I put this in the stock market?
Impact of Financial LiteracyRecounting his son's immediate interest in investing after winning money.
I think what I've seen across the globe and across Minnesota, I think Wayzata should be offering this across all the elementary schools. It's they learn so much, they love it and I think that these are invaluable skills.
Program Expansion RecommendationAdvocating for the expansion of the investment club program to all elementary schools.
So for their kind of age group, um, grades 4 through 6, there was 167 portfolios across Minnesota. Um, we were able to place three in the top five, which is eligible for the award ceremony, as well as seven out of the top 10, which was awesome.
Investment Club ResultsReporting the investment club's success in state-level rankings.
And if you look at all the portfolios grades 4 through 12 in Minnesota, there are 885. We had five of the top 20 positions competing against fourth through 12th graders.
Investment Club PerformanceFurther elaborating on the investment club's competitive performance.
So, I'm just I'm wondering from a practical standpoint, like what what does the game look like? What is it like? What is the format? And how do they buy stocks and stuff? And how do they know what companies, you know, are available? And how do they learn about companies?
Investment Club MechanicsAsking detailed questions about the practicalities and learning process of the investment game.
We structured the lessons out of the eight sessions that we met with them with mini lessons to teach a topic. So, for example, session one is what do you do with your money? Do you save it or spend it? Have you thought about ways to grow your money? And then we start talking about products, brands, and companies.
Investment Club CurriculumExplaining the curriculum structure and initial topics covered in the investment club.
We used Yahoo Finance as a resource. We added some resources to our school website and kids had access to that both during technology and during club time and at home. We had a lot of kids researching at home.
Investment Club ResourcesDetailing the resources used for research and learning in the investment club.
So is this only in Kimberly Lane not across all elementary schools? We have a co-curricular kind of budget and then all depends on like who are advisors that are interested and available like we have art club, we have ukulele and this just happens to be one of the clubs that we have. I don't know if I don't think there are other elementary that have this one.
Program AvailabilityInquiring about the availability of the investment club in other elementary schools.
Is there any program at middle school or high school level? I remember seeing in one of the schools like the scoreboard if you will. Yes. So financial literacy now is a state standard. So we'll be doing that in our freshman classes but also our middle schools through their wind times and then they've also had a new elective course that has some of that financial literacy baked into it.
Financial Literacy ProgramsAsking about financial literacy programs in middle and high schools.
I know I had SNDK, and it that's an AI company that really helped me a lot.
Investment PicksMentioning a specific stock pick and its positive impact on his portfolio.
People (19)
Milon SohoniBoard Member
Opened the work session and introduced board members.
Sheila PriorBoard Member
Introduced at the start of the meeting.
Dan AstraBoard Member
Introduced at the start of the meeting.
Parit ShahndiBoard Member
Introduced at the start of the meeting.
Heidi KaterBoard Member
Introduced at the start of the meeting.
Chase Anderson
Places Mentioned
Kimberly Lane Elementary SchoolWaunakee School DistrictMinnesotaOakwoodNorthwoods
Events & Meetings (3)
Monday, May 18th, 2026: Wayzata Public Schools Board of Education Work Session
June 8th, next month: Regular School Board Meeting / Board Self-Evaluation Workshop
5:30 p.m. on June 8th: Board Self-Evaluation Workshop
Introduced at the start of the meeting; joined Dr. Anderson at the podium for recognitions.
Denise KurzwinskiAdministrative Professional
Recognized as Employee of the Month for Kimberly Lane Elementary.
1 quote
“It's a fun place to work. Great staff. They make it so enjoyable. Support I mean they support me as well, too, and I just enjoy working for the Waunakee School District and Kimberly Lane. Thank you.”
Response after receiving Employee of the Month recognition.
Dr. MillerUnknown
Introduced the school spotlight presentation and Dr. Wermer.
Dr. Carrie WermerPrincipal
Presented highlights from Kimberly Lane Elementary and introduced the investment club students.
CarterStudent
Student presenter discussing investment club outcomes and game rules.
KelechiStudent
Student presenter discussing investment club learning on products, brands, and companies.
ColinStudent
Student presenter discussing assessing risk in investments.
AmanaStudent
Student presenter discussing diversification in investment portfolios.
Eddie CliftonPE Teacher and Investment Club Advisor
Co-presented an overview of the Kimberly Lane Investment Club.
Rob OlsenTechnology and Media Arts Teacher and Investment Club Advisor
Co-presented an overview of the Kimberly Lane Investment Club.
Mr. Asmus / Nick AsmusCommunity Member and Parent / Investment Club Advisor
Initiated the investment club idea and served as an advisor; shared a story about his son's engagement with financial concepts.
Mrs. KnutsonReading Teacher
Mentioned by a student in an anecdote about learning to read.