Steve Schumacher, history teacher and principal at Zion Lutheran School, received the Olive Foster Teacher of the Year Award from the Illinois State Historical Society, presented by Happy Dean, chairman of the society’s Education Affairs Committee. Photo provided by Zion Lutheran School

Zion Lutheran student and teacher win Illinois State Historical Society awards [May 01, 2012]  Both Anna Sielaff, a seventh-grader at Zion Lutheran School in Lincoln, and her history teacher, Steve Schumacher, won awards from the Illinois State Historical Society at the Illinois History Symposium last weekend at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Peoria.

Sielaff received the historical society's War of 1812 Student Scholarship for her history fair project entitled "How did the Edwards Trace Influence the Eventual Settlement of Central and Southern Illinois?"

"Her exhibit tells a significant story about the settlement of the Illinois Territory in the years before statehood and during the international conflict that has come to be known as the War of 1812," noted state Sen. David Koehler, 46th District, in presenting Sielaff her award.

Schumacher was presented with the Olive Foster Teacher of the Year Award, which recognizes teachers for their outstanding contributions to the study and teaching of state and local history. Recipients actively promote Illinois history in their schools and communities, using resources of local historical societies, museums, the state society and related organizations.

Schumacher has taught history at Zion Lutheran School for 21 years, and oversees the biannual school history fair. Projects from the school's fair often progress to regional and state competition. Schumacher also serves as the school's principal.

[Text from file received from Zion Lutheran School, Lincoln]