2026 KU seniors honor high school teachers with Wolfe Teaching Excellence Awards

LAWRENCE — Three outstanding high school teachers will be recognized with the Wolfe Teaching Excellence Award this spring.

“Great teachers change lives,” said Rick Ginsberg, dean of the University of Kansas School of Education & Human Sciences. “The Wolfe Award is significant since the awardees are nominated by former students, who take the time to explain in some detail how the teacher was so impactful. For any teacher, this is the greatest recognition they can achieve.”

Nominations are submitted by KU seniors. Students from any major can nominate their former teachers, and the winners can be high school teachers from anywhere in the world. The 2026 award recipients:

• Jennifer Antonetti, Topeka High School
• Laura Restivo, Blue Valley West High School
• Susan Theotokatos, Mundelein High School.

Jennifer Antonetti

Antonetti was nominated by Owen Deines, a senior in cybersecurity engineering. Deines, who had Antonetti as a teacher at Topeka High School, wrote: “The lessons Mrs. Antonetti taught me extend far beyond music. She showed me the value of effort, the importance of leadership and the impact of truly caring about others. The mindset she instilled in me continues to shape how I approach my academic work and my goals today.”

Laura Restivo

Restivo was nominated by Katrina Whitehouse, a senior in microbiology. Whitehouse, who had Restivo as a teacher at Blue Valley West High School, wrote: “She may seem like a docile human, but her persistence through difficult setbacks and upsetting failures is hardly docile at all. Doc (Restivo) is the definition of a teacher who wants and works for the betterment of her students in and beyond her classroom. Myself and many other students would not be anywhere near where we are today without her.”

Susan Theotokatos

Theotokatos was nominated by Adriana Nuzzo, a senior in elementary education who is also pursuing a master’s degree in education with a concentration in early childhood unified. Nuzzo, who had Theotokatos as a teacher at Mundelein High School in Mundelein, Illinois, wrote: “Mrs. Theo is more than just a great teacher; she is an amazing role model who changed the direction of my life. Her welcoming nature, dedication to her students and passion for teaching make her truly deserving of this recognition. She has inspired me to pursue a career in education, and I hope to one day create the same kind of positive and lasting impact on my own students that she has had on me.”

Recipients each receive a cash award of $3,000, and their respective high schools each receive $1,000. The award winners were selected from a large pool of outstanding nominees by a committee of faculty, administrators and students from KU’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and School of Education & Human Sciences.

The Wolfe Teaching Excellence Award was created in 2006 with a $250,000 gift from R. Dean Wolfe, business administration, ‘66, and juris doctor, ’69; and Cheryl L. Wolfe, Spanish education, ’69, Clayton, Missouri, through the Wolfe Family Foundation. 

The award fund is managed by KU Endowment, the official fundraising and fund-management foundation for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment was the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.