Kahuku teacher wins $10,000 Wal-Mart grant
Susan Luehrs is chosen as Teacher of the Year for the state
Susan Luehrs, a Kahuku High and Intermediate School special-education teacher and a trainer of dogs for the disabled, won a $10,000 grant to spend on her school as Wal-Mart's 10th annual State Teacher of the Year.
Wal-Mart announced the award Friday at the high school.
Luehrs was judged the winner by Phi Delta Kappa International, a professional education association, and was given a one-year complimentary membership to the organization as one of her prizes. The $10,000 educational grant was from the Wal-Mart & Sam's Club Foundation.
Last May, she was nominated by area customers of the Mililani Wal-Mart branch and chosen to be honored in recognition of National Teacher Appreciation Week, one of the chain store's 3,800 branch winners throughout the nation. The store donated $1,000 to her school and awarded her a $50 gift card.
The teacher also runs Hawaii Fi-Do Service Dogs in Haleiwa, which trains dogs for therapy with autistic children and others with special needs.
She incorporated her dog training into her classroom curriculum, getting her students to help her with the pups at the Life Center in Kahuku.
Each state winner will be considered for the store's national Teacher of the Year award, with a prize of $25,000, to be announced in November.
Wal-Mart will give $4.3 million to schools of winning teachers this year through this program.