001I know. Amen. Defense! I did Okay, you guys. If everybody could take a seat, please. Welcome. Thank you so much for being here today. My name is Christine Farrell. I'm very proud to be here in front of you on behalf of the Clarkston Foundation Board and Teacher of the Year Committee member. We started this 33 years ago, and back then it was just a dozen roses. And we've expanded on that a little bit today. And thanks to LaFontaine, the winner will get a 2-year lease. Um they will get $500 from LaFontaine. Finalists will get $200 from LaFontaine. And then on behalf of the Clarkston Foundation, we'll give the winner $1,000. The finalists will get $250, and each nominee will get $100. Over the years, the Clarkston Foundation has granted over $1 million. We poured it
002right back into the Clarkston schools. Just this year alone, we've given $50,000 straight into the schools. We are also deeply committed to providing um assistance with Be the Light program, as well as the Pack of Dogs program, along with LaFontaine. I would like to take a moment to have the Clarkston Foundation members who are here today to take a stand. Your dedication and passion is why we are here today. All right, I would like to invite Andrew Lock up here from the LaFontaine Automotive Group to say a few words. Yes. Thank you very much. It is truly an honor to stand before you tonight and recognize a remarkable individual who has dedicated themselves to shaping the future one student at a time. Teachers truly are the unsung heroes in our communities, nurturing minds, inspiring curiosity,
003building confidence in our children. They do this not for praise or accolades, but out of a deep commitment to something bigger than themselves. Tonight, we celebrate that dedication. As a proud sponsor of this year's Teacher of the Year Award, we are humbled to be part of this moment. Our mission at LaFontaine is simple, yet powerful. To build lifelong relationships that connect families, strengthen communities, and personalize the automotive experience. It is a mission that is rooted in trust, care, and a deep understanding of what it means to serve, not unlike the mission of a great teacher. This year's recipient exemplifies those very values. They have built lasting bonds with their students and families. They have uplifted and unified their school communities. And they have personalized their teaching in ways that have made all the difference. And
004in that celebration, we brought a few vehicles out there. You'll get to see what they select at the end. Most of all, we just want to congratulate everybody who was nominated. And thank you again from the LaFontaine family and organization. Thank you, Andrew. And thank you guys for your ongoing support and dedication. Um so, let's talk about how we got here. We had 28 nominees for Teacher of the Year. These nominees came from fellow staff members, administrators, parents, and students. All people who saw these educators in action and wanted to shine a little light on them. From there, our committee reviewed, and we came down to 13 semi-finalists. Those semi-finalists were interviewed, and after thoughtful interviews, we selected five finalists for teacher classroom teacher observations. During those visits, we paid really attention to classroom environment,
005how they interacted with their students or their peers. Common themes emerged. Collaboration, thoughtfulness, heroic. These are all hallmarks of exceptional educators, and our finalists have those as well. I would like to invite Nancy Nancy Mahoney to the stage. And I think this has to be one of the very best days, um, I think for Clarkston Community Schools. Uh, you know, as I look out at this beautiful, you know, crowd, it's just a very, very special time, I think to celebrate, um, people that care so deeply, have a passionate for this profession, um, and are excellent at what they do. So, I want to give a shout out to Clarkston Foundation. I, um, am honored to sit on the panel of their leadership team, and, um, Teacher of the Year, um, means a lot, and, um,
006it's just very dear to my heart as we celebrate. So, I want to introduce the committee, and I know that not everybody could be with us today in terms of the Clarkston Foundation who's focusing on Teacher of the Year. But, I do want to give a shout out to Matt Evans, who's a former student of mine, one of my all-time favorites. He leads this charge. Um, he is not able to be with us today, but his mom, um, Ann Evans, if you could stand, she serves, um, on Teacher of the Year Committee. We're very happy to have her. Joe Kosch was not able to be with us, Matt McCulla, um, Tyler Sagen, and then, of course, Christine Farrell. So, just super, super happy to have this committee. I would like to call up every nominee
007to the front here. I'd like you to line up and let's hold the applause till the end, but this is a beautiful time that we can celebrate all of our nominees. So, I'm going to call you by name and if you could come up. Megan Burkett Brasher, elementary literacy coordinator. Michelle Rice, adult teacher. Angela Townsend, elementary math coach, Andersonville Elementary. Marissa Webner, elementary instructional technologist. Jackie Booker, elementary special education teacher. Breanna Spencer, elementary special education teacher. I know it's hard to make our way, you're doing great. Jennifer Ford, elementary literacy interventionist. Alexis Lowe, elementary behavior interventionist. Lynn Larson, elementary social worker. Deandra Smith, family engagement coordinator. Cassidy Zigelbauer, elementary special education teacher. Kelly Fuller, elementary literacy interventionist. Heather Hong, elementary special education teacher. Janice Steggy, middle school special education teacher. Christine Butcher, middle school interventionist.
008Taylor Orr, middle school counselor. Britney Doyle, middle school English language development teacher. Kristen Locke, secondary media specialist. Sarah Hester, junior high school counselor. Emily Grammatico, junior high ELD teacher. Laura Manacello, secondary special education teacher. Shannon Carolyn, high school counselor. Sarah Ross, special education teacher. Secondary. Christina Forecast, secondary English language development teacher. Tara Marchand. Secondary special education teacher. Tiger Weddington, physical therapist. Troy Luke, secondary special education teacher. Von Phillips, virtual mentor. And now, let's give these wonderful, beautiful people a round of applause. Pictures good? Okay. I'm going to ask that our five finalists remain. There are um some seats uh that I'd like you to have a seat, okay? And the rest of you can have a seat. So, Megan Burkett Braisher, Angela Townsend, Kelly Fuller, Emily Grammatico, Laura Manicello, if you could stay. Now, I'd
009like to invite our 2024 Teacher of the Year, fabulous Ryan Easley, secondary ELA teacher. Uh I prepped just like I prepped all my lesson plans since winning Teacher of the Year. I didn't. Um I just want to say congratulations to the finalists. Uh having been in your shoes not that long ago, I know how nervous you guys are and I'm happy to see all your faces. I've had the pleasure of getting to know you guys uh over the course of the years through personal and professional interactions. Um Megan, I know we've conspired on how exhausting Bob is, right? Um Angela, if you remember, we took OU classes with Gifford, I mean, Mr. Gifford. I mean, can you believe they made him a principal? I know. Uh Emily, uh you took care of my daughter like
010she was your own and I'll I'll always uh be grateful for that. Um Kelly, I had the absolute pleasure of watching you and your husband present at TEDx and I was so grateful to do that and your story is super inspiring. Um and Laura, um the list is too long, right? But I don't think there's anybody else in here whose mom I know on a first name basis and give a hug to. I love you, Cindy. All right. Um Last year I struggled a little bit with like, you know, did I I I I was raised to not feel like I deserve anything, that I I got to earn it. Um and you're about to experience one of the worst things you could experience as if you have imposter syndrome like me, the principals are
011going to get up here and they're going to pour their hearts out about everybody on this stage and and I sat there last year and every time a principal talked, I was like, "There's no way I'm winning. These people are amazing, outstanding people who I respect and love in this district and who all my kids talk about." Um and, you know, obviously when I won, I was floored, uh but still really struggled with did I deserve it, right? Because there's so many deserving people. All of you deserve this. You deserve to be up here. You've earned it. I've worked in this district for years with you guys. Your name's come up all the time with students throughout the district. You absolutely deserve this. Um I My journey was, you know, pretty long. I I was
012nominated, didn't even make the interview process uh one year. Um and then I was nominated, got to the interview process, and lost to Chris Boraski of all people, right? Um and I was bitter. Um and I I mean, specifically about Chris, but like just in general. Um Uh I I remember being, you know, not thinking that I deserved it, but also knowing how much I've poured my life into this job. And having my hopes up. Um and you'll be a little bitter if you don't get it. And I spent time emailing all the other finalists and almost apologetically, like I'm sorry, right? Um if you win, you're going to be elated. And and hopefully you feel like you deserve it. Um but that bitterness will fade. And that local fame will fade as well, right?
013I mean, you're going to get back to the trenches, and the only difference is you got a fancy new car now to drive you to the trenches, right? You're still going to have to do all the things that earned you this spot. Um but I I know you guys, and I know you got here because your hearts are huge. And you didn't start this year planning on being Teacher of the Year. You started this year excited about the new relationships and the good things you're going to do, and the kids, the kids, the kids. So, just know, no matter what happens tonight, at some point you're just going to fall back into the best place that you guys could be, and that's yourselves with the respect, love, and support from your colleagues and friends with
014a heart that's big as this world and knowing that you make a positive difference. Good luck. Yep. I'd like to introduce our superintendent, Dr. Shawn Ryan. Wait. Good everyone. I'm going to make my comments brief. I've suffered from a little voice loss, which Nancy Mahoney was nice enough to say it's going to be a win for everyone tonight cuz I don't get to have to get dragged off a stage, but we have this thing, right? Again, this is not exactly part of the speech here, but Nancy gives me symbol and and gives me emotions to tell me when it's time to kind of wind it down because I need that sometimes. And I'll tell you why, because this place is amazing. Clarkston schools is an amazing place to work or to go to school to
015be part of a bigger part of our community. And first of all, I just want to highlight how much La Fontaine, how much you mean to us. You know, your work with our dogs and all the different programs and sponsoring the teacher of the year. And every time I drive past La Fontaine, I you know, it's just I'm always my wife's like, "Yep, yep, I know, Shawn." They do so much for your school. You know, and and yes, you do so much and the tremendous investment that you put within our schools and within our teachers and our students does not go unnoticed. It takes leaders out there that are willing to kind of go the extra mile and you guys too. And when I hear your mission is about fostering relationships and looking forward that
016is, when I look at Clarkston Community Schools, the thing I'm most proud about. Clarkston schools, whether it's with our our teachers with our students, with our looking at the big picture of connecting everyone, it's really comes down to relationships. And that connection, the ones that you remember are not the ones that maybe was the perfect algebra teacher or the the most perfect support teacher, it's the it's the individual who invested in you and made you feel like you were one in a million. No matter how they did that, they made that connection. And it does last lifetime. And that's how those connections continue to kind of bloom and go generation after generation in Clarkston. And I couldn't be more proud of these individuals to my right here and how much they invested, as Mr. Easley
017said, in the trenches. Uh that's where it is. The magic happens with our teachers. The magic happens and every day that they show up. And I can tell you from hearing stories from them and been through this district for many years, some days you're hot, some days you're not, but these individuals show up every single day and they make it happen. So, I want to thank everyone for coming here today. I want to really congratulate all of our nominees and our finalists and the wonderful work that they do each and every day. I want to thank everybody for their continued investment and know that the children are our future. So, everything we put into them, it makes a difference. Thank you. We're now going to take um each, I think, uh finalist here and speak
018um on their behalf. And so, the administrator assigned um to their workplace is going to speak and I feel very fortunate cuz I get to I get to start us off. So, um Megan, I'd like you to come stand by me right now. Everyone, this is Megan Birkett Brazier. It is a true honor and privilege to stand before you today to recognize an extraordinary educator, a visionary leader, and a passionate advocate for student learning. Megan's journey began in 2004 when she stepped into the classroom with the heart and hope of a new teacher. Over 14 years, she nurtured children in kindergarten, first, and second grade, creating safe, engaging, and joyful learning environments where students not only learn to read, but learn to love reading. Megan's dedication to literacy and her natural leadership qualities led her
019to take on the role of a literacy coach. For 2 years, she supported her colleagues with the same grace, insight, and integrity that she consistently brought to her students at Pine Ave. Elementary. Today, Megan leads our entire elementary division in literacy, including seven coaches, and she does so with a collaborative spirit, a deep source of knowledge, and a thoughtful, intentional approach to leadership. She's the driving force behind a continuum of literacy learning that is reshaping how we think about reading and writing across all content areas. What sets Megan apart is not just what she knows, but it's how she leads. She listens deeply. She sees connections where others might see barriers. She brings people together across grade levels, across departments, across perspectives, and makes sure that every voice is heard and understood. Megan is a
020professional in every sense of the word. She's always prepared. She's always researching. She's always poised, and she's always ready to help. She holds high expectations not just for herself, but for all of us because she believes in our collective capacity to grow. And her ability to differentiate adult learning ensures that every educator moves forward with purpose and confidence. Megan, these last 2 years have been a lot. Megan has led seven grade level teams across the elementary division in a robust, extensive literacy resource study. In addition, she has led us through extensive learning on the essential practices for all staff to satisfy a million dollar grant by the Michigan Department of Education. I'm so grateful for your organization, your thoughtfulness, and your forward thinking throughout this 1 year, no, 2 year, no, 2 and 1/2 now,
021okay, process. Megan Brazeau reminds me, and I think all of us, of what's possible when our leadership is rooted in purpose, in people, and in a passion for literacy and learning. She is not only deserving of this recognition, I think she elevates what it means to be Teacher of the Year. Congratulations, Megan. I'd now like to introduce Kim Fletcher to speak on behalf of Angela Townson. Good afternoon. Angie, I can't do this by myself. I am so honored to stand before you today to recognize an amazing educator and an amazing person, Angie Townsend. And I also am thrilled to recognize another nominee from Andersonville, Marissa Webber, instructional technologist for AE and NSE. I want to thank Clarkson Foundation and LaFontaine for making this special event possible. I am so grateful that we make space for
022special Teacher of the Years because it's more than our general education classroom teachers, special education classroom teachers. It really does take a village to do the work that we do to inspire, grow, and nurture all the children we serve. So, nominees, I congratulate all of you. Finalists, you are all wonderful people in my heart and you are all so, so, so deserving. Thank you for all that you do. But, I'm very excited to share with you a little bit more about Angie Townsend. Um joining Angie today are her husband and her sons, Danny, Derek, and Vincent, as well as a whole cheer crowd from AE. Go AE. Um I think it's important to know that uh probably out of everyone in this room, Angie is the last person who wants any sort of recognition, accolade.
023This is so so far out of her comfort zone and she is truly the first person that deserves it. She um when I think about what it means to be a math coach, I think of someone who supports teachers to grow their instructional practice. I think of someone who teaches and models and leads and supports. Someone who elevates mathematics, who inspires everyone to love mathematics and know that we are all mathematicians for our kids and our families. Sometimes it's easier with our kids than it is even with our parents and we really appreciate Angie moving mountains um for our families to appreciate the world of math as well. And Angie is a pillar for that not just in our school but our entire district. Think she's an inspiration in our group of math coaches. And
024while I could talk forever about the impact she's had at our school, I also want to share um some words from our staff and our students. So when we asked teachers if they could describe Angie in a few words, they responded immediately with the word understanding over and over and over again. Every single one of them reiterated the fact that she understands them. She understands their wants, their needs and how to help them reach their goals for their students. And this is because Angie walks the walk. She is in classrooms every single day. She is teaching side by side with teachers every single day. She is working with kids all the time, modeling a variety of instructional practices and thinking routines so that we can all learn alongside her. A few more words from our
025staff. Angie sees things from a different perspective and makes it easier to learn. She's always willing to help, whether it's coming in and modeling or covering my class so can I can work with small groups and assess with more precision. She's dedicated and humble. She's always there for me, but more importantly, she's always there for my students. She's always positive and looks for the best in every situation, even when it seems like it there's not much to celebrate. She finds a way to lift us up. I learn from her every single time she comes into my room to teach. Then we ask the kids who tell the truth. What do the kids think about Mrs. Townsend? She's so smart. And she's also nice, awesome, kind, caring, helpful, cool, motivating, mathematical, and they use that word
026all the time. And one of our fifth graders said, "Mrs. Townsend makes sure that we understand how to do math, and she helps us have fun when we do number talks together." And just the other day, on Tuesday, I was in the hallway with Angie, our main hallway, like during drop-off, and um a little young five student, you remember this? Comes up to us. She says, "Mrs. Townsend, can you please come in our class today so we can have fun math time?" And she's five. And she wants to do math. And she knew my name. And she knew her name. Uh and it's not just the impact she makes with teaching math in our building, it's the impact she makes on our culture. She sees our students as people, she sees our teachers as people.
027When she walks down our hallway, kids go out of their way to hug her, high-five her, tell her hello. She knows every student by name and can probably tell you what their favorite math strategy is to figure out problems. She has close relationships, trusting relationships with teachers, and they always feel safe about talking to her about any math curriculum confusions. She's built a safe place, and that's truly what helps us grow. She makes sure that we can all meet the best the needs of our learners and make sure how we can really get most out of our units of study. Finally, Angie is a master facilitator. And she doesn't think She is the best at leading professional learning, and whenever whenever I find out that we're going to have a session led by Angie, I'm
028like, yes, it's going to be such a good day. We are going to learn. She's going to challenge We're going to do some hard math, right, which is awesome, but she's going to support us, and we're going to get through it, and we're going to laugh because she's so stinking funny. She's so you. I think they're making fun of They're laughing at me, Kim. No, I I love you, Angie. Um so, she does. She inspires our students' appreciation for math while also growing our teachers' instructional practice. I am honored to learn and grow alongside her every day. She makes me a better leader, a better educator, a better person. I appreciate who she is as a mom and as a wife and as a colleague. I appreciate everything she does for our students and our
029staff and our culture. Thank you for the always positive mindset you bring, your hands-on approach, your humor-filled professional learning, and your dedication to growing our little mathematicians. Clarkston Foundation and La Fontaine, thank you so much for the opportunity to recognize her cuz she just deserves it so much. Thank you. I'd like to ask Matt Gifford to please come to the mic. Good evening. Thank you to the LaFontaine Group and the Clarkston Foundation for providing for this opportunity and congratulations to all the nominees in the in the room today. Tremendous job in well representing Clarkston in the community. It is both an honor and a true privilege to stand before you today to speak on behalf of the most one of the most deserving educators I've had the pleasure of working with, Kelly Fuller. Kelly is
030a literacy interventionist at Springfield Plains Elementary, but those words alone do not capture the heart, dedication, and quiet power she brings to our school community every single day. In her 23rd year of teaching within Clarkston Community Schools, Kelly has impacted hundreds, if not thousands of lives. First at Clarkston Elementary, where she taught both lower and upper grades as a classroom teacher, and now at SPE, where her influence continues to grow. Kelly doesn't just work at Springfield Plains. She lives the SPE mission to love, learn, and lead. She loves her students, her colleagues, and the family she serves. She is passionate about her students and passionate about her service. She learns continually, staying on the cutting edge of best practices in literacy and intervention. Kelly leads quietly, but powerfully, through her through her example, her integrity,
031and her tireless commitment to helping everyone around her succeed. Whether coordinating academic games, serving on the leadership team, or helping guide the success of our pod squads, Kelly is everywhere. Not for what recognition, but because she cares. She is selfless with her time, always the first to offer help, whether it's supporting a colleague, stepping in where a gap exists, or working side by side special education to ensure that every student receives the most effective personalized instruction possible. But what truly sets Kelly apart is her ability to connect. She builds genuine trusting relationships with her students, families, and staff alike. In her presence, people feel seen, supported, and inspired to be their best selves. She has a remarkable way of making everyone feel like they matter. Some of Kelly's students want you all to know, "Miss
032Fuller is always positive. She influences everyone to get better at reading. She lets us have fun and learn at the same time. Miss Fuller is an amazing teacher. She goes out of her way to help you, even when you have trouble. She helps you understand. She is super funny and makes anything possible. She is kind and helpful." And to put it simply, one student shared, "She is nice and good at teaching. Simply the best." Kelly's impact cannot be measured by test scores or titles, but it is felt in the quiet confidence of a struggling reader who finally believes in themselves, in the grateful smile of a parent who knows their child is safe and understood, and in the admiration of every colleague she works with. Kelly Fuller is a tremendous gift to our community and
033Springfield Plains Elementary. I am honored to serve alongside such a wonderful educator, and extremely proud to present this statement on behalf of Kelly Fuller for Clarkston Foundation Teacher of the Year Award. Thank you. Congratulations. I'd like to ask Mr. John Bannick to come forward. He'll be celebrating two of our finalists. John Bannick. Hello. Good evening. Uh before we recognize our finalists, I want to acknowledge all the outstanding educators uh who were nominated for Teacher of the Year this year. Each of your nominations is a testament uh to the dedication and passion that you have and the impact that you've had on our students uh in our school community at large. Um you are what makes Clarkston special and we are better because of you. And like Ryan said, this is a tough job. It's a
034tough job and when you come in and you get after it every day, show your passion, it really shows and that makes a huge impact. So, thank you. I would also like to thank um to extend a heartfelt thank you to LaFontaine Automotive Group and the Clarkston Foundation uh both incredible partners that continue to support our teachers and our schools and in our community at large. You do these things um and and it goes maybe it doesn't go noticed, I guess, but we know that what you're doing makes a huge impact for us. Um now, it's my privilege to share a couple words about two Clarkston Junior High School teachers. Both exceptional nominees and I go I talk fast, so I want you to understand that I really you know Okay. First nominee is Emily
035Grammatico. Emily Grammatico is a remarkable educator whose impact on our kids and our families transcends the classroom. Oh yeah, come on up. Yeah. Um You know, transcends the classroom like I said. Her work with ELL or English language learners through project-based learning in her Spanish classes has transformed not just the academic outcomes but students' confidence, their agency, their sense of belonging which is very important in our school. Um her classroom is a vibrant student-centered space where every voice matters. Um and learning does feel alive in Emily's classroom. She adds tremendously to the positive culture of our building. She brings compassion, excellence, and humility to everything she touches. Um she's passionate about her work. She never shies away from the the hard conversations or heavy lifting that comes with being an exceptional educator. She's trusted by
036her colleagues. She's leaned on by administrators. In fact, Emily does serve as the building principal once in a while. Um and she calls herself the A-team because I've asked other teachers to do it and Emily says no, you ask the A-team. Um but she's loved universally by her students as well. Um her nominator shared it's rare to find someone who is universally accepted and excuse me, respected and appreciated in every corner of a school building. But that's who Emily is. If you want to know what it looks like when you go and watch a teacher, spend 5 minutes in Emily's classroom. You see it, you feel it, and you know exactly why she deserves to be teacher of the year. Congratulations, Emily. All right, good. We did the high five together and not the fist
037bump high five that just terrible. So, uh Laura Monacello another wonderful Clarkson Junior High School educator, also a Clarkson High School teacher. Um she kind of goes back and forth between buildings. Um Laura is the kind of educator that quietly shapes the future through tireless dedication, fierce optimism, and an unwavering belief in every student that she serves. Specializing in math instruction for students with disabilities, she crafts accessible, engaging lessons uh that empower her learners who often feel a little bit behind or left behind. Her classroom is structured, innovative, and it's built on care. Um Laura contributes powerfully to the culture of our building. She brings energy, humor, and a deep commitment to making Clarkson Junior High School and Clarkson High School a better place for all kids. Her passion is evident in everything she does
038from designing dynamic math lessons to leading Link Crew, which is our mentor program for our eighth grade students who come in. Um and she mentors new teachers. She's willing to put herself out there. She's not afraid of the grind, she embraces it. That toughness, that tough uh job that Ryan was talking about, she embraces that. She does the hard work that defines truly exceptional educators. Her nominator put it best, she's the kind of teacher who restores your faith in what education can be. Laura doesn't just teach math, she lifts up people. That's why she's so deserving of this year's Teacher of the Year award. Congrat- congratulations, Laura. Thank you. I can tell you after reading 28 nomination packets, I immediately thought how in the world are we going to eliminate anybody? And then after 13
039interviews, I thought how in the world are we going to eliminate anybody? And then after five classroom observations, I was like, I just give it to them all. I don't know. However, there has to be one. So, after many, many hours of reading nomination packets, of doing interviews, of observing classrooms, and of deliberating late into a Friday night, we did come up with a decision. It is my honor and privilege to announce the 2025 Teacher of the Year, Emily Grammatico. Emily. Emily, you can come on up to the podium. Wow. So, I think the Clarkson Foundation at this point has never seen me speechless. So, I'm going to muster up some words here. Um my husband, my family, my mom and dad are here tonight, and can I lower this? Ooh, I got the shakes.
040Um they're here tonight, and my daughters are not here. They're at their their company dance auditions, and they said to me, "Are are you are you okay if we're not there tonight?" And I said, "Yes, it's fine. I There's no chance I'm going to win." Now, I said to them the special part already happened and that was when my friends, Mike Greavy, Jen Castiglione Oh, hold it back. Hold it back. Jen Castiglione, Sandy Appafano, and Dan Clayson. They're part of the PBL team, the project-based learning team. Um when they took the time to nominate me and that was the most special part for me. This is overwhelming right now and very special to me, but the fact that my colleagues and friends thought of me like that. Sometimes I sit in that classroom with my
041ELD students and I I actually become a a student. Um there is one time when I'm a part of a team at times and I I sit with the kids and that's how I That's how I support them. I just make myself a student. And one time one of the students went up to Mr. Greavy and said, "Hey, I don't want to rat her out, but Mrs. Grammatico is copying and pasting all of the work and uh I hope this doesn't affect our grade." So, I I'm with the kids at all times and I I love them and I love the project-based learning group. It's such a such a positive component to the ELD program. ELD is English language development and um I'm very appreciative that I'm a part of this. I I feel like
042a really tiny puzzle piece. I really am just a little tiny puzzle piece. They call me gluematic oaks. I kind of glue the eighth and ninth grade and the ELD and the general ed students together. Um Clarkson Foundation, I it was a pleasure meeting you. It really was an honor. You have an open invite to my classroom. It was wonderful you coming in and getting to meet our students. And also you have an open invite to our showcases and really I appreciate you and completely I'm blown away by this. I am just a little tiny piece and I'm probably going to keep saying puzzle piece cuz that's all I can think of right now. On one side, I'm at the junior high and at one side I have Britney Doyle who was nominated. She's at
043Salk Middle School and she really is an amazing teacher and she supports the kids and pushes them on to me. And then on the other side I have Christina Vercellotti at the high school and she's at the high school ELD teacher who just kind of sends the kids out in the world. Our ELD elementary teachers and ELD support teachers, they are phenomenal. We don't know the students, we know the families. We're really connected through their families. Ann Kraus has been my partner in crime since the beginning. She um Ann Her and I Her and I have been through it all together. She is the biggest advocate for our ELD community. And I love and appreciate you. I thank you Clarkson Foundation for giving me this platform to talk about our ELD group. They're awesome kids,
044awesome families and they bring such a beautiful life to Clarkson. Oh gosh, my puzzle pieces Edmonson Central Office, Sean, Nancy, Stacy, John Lucito, thank you. You have been very strong advocates and strong voices to our team and I nobody really knows all the work that you put in to help our families and to help support our staff. So thank you. Uh junior high crew, first John, Sarah, Wes Silk and Mark Magni, thank you. John, you are Where you at, John? John, you are like you are a fierce, empathetic leader with our students. You've become such a strong advocate for our crew. We have such a cool eighth and ninth grade group and we just keep keep getting more kids. So thank you to my crew, my buddies. Um also, goodness, trying to think, our support
045staff. There is a beautiful person sitting here, Sarah Hester. She's a part of our ELD crew. She was nominated for Teacher of the Year as well. She's our counselor, and she is the voice and just my She's my my partner in crime as well when it comes to helping students and advocating for them. And I think I have another awesome group of people, and they're our LRC staff. We have a really nice connection between our ESL kids and our LRC staff. And this woman right here, this bad woman right here, she has our kids too, and she works with them, and I I share this with you. You are amazing person, soul, and one of the just kindest, funniest people I've ever known. Uh and I guess my last little piece. That's okay. Um are
046my students. They I when Mike Greavy came up to me and said, "Emily, we're going to nominate you for for Teacher of the Year." I I said, "Are you sure?" And he said, "Yeah, yeah, we're sure. Look, it's right here." I said, "Oh, I don't know about that." And and then after that, I just kind of stopped talking about it, and then all the waves of emotions started coming to me. It was um uh jeez, I started just seeing past students and hearing their past stories. And I'd like to share maybe a story about these students. One One time, a student of ours had to move back to Mexico with her dad within a day. It was like, "Bye, I'm leaving." And um instead of closing the grade book down and moving on, Mike Greavy
047and Jen Castiglione, she was a ninth grader at the time. We got together and we were like, all right, how are we going to teach her in Mexico? So, Mike got this and it was this big screen and it had wheels on it and it was huge. It was this big screen and we would we'd say, okay, you go to go get some internet, go find a Wi-Fi cafe or go to a cafe and I want you to connect and we're going to keep teaching you. So, she did. So, we I would take this big I don't even know where it's at anymore. This big screen and I'd wheel her around. We'd wheel her to the LGI, we'd wheel her to different classrooms and we'd put her in groups with teams. We actually um I
048think we invented the Google Meet that day. Um and it was pretty cool cuz we kept that connect like we didn't think like, oh, we got a problem, let's close the gradebook down. We thought, oh, hey, what are we going to do to solve this? We got to keep teaching her. We love her. And we did and that's how we treat all the kids. And it's not just me, I'm just that little tiny puzzle piece. There was a time in my classroom when a kid sat in the back of my room and he had his head down cuz I I think my voice is so soothing, it put him to sleep. So, I I I went over to him and I said, hey, listen, you're going to be the first person in your family to
049graduate high school. I need you to wake up. I said, I want you to graduate high school. And he looked at me and he said, w- what are you going to give me? And so, I said, what do you what do you want? And then I held my breath. I was like, oh God, what is he going to say? And he looked around my room and he said, I want that flag. I'm like, you want the flag? He says, I want the Mexican flag. I said, oh, you know what? I will go out and buy you a new Mexican flag. And he said, I don't want the new one, I want the one that's up on your wall. I said, okay, you you you graduate high school, I will give you that flag. So he
050um he moved on to Christina Vercasa at the high school or he moved on to the high school and 10th, 11th, and 12th grade passed and there was only one time in my life that I've ever served on detention. I I've never done it before, but this one magical day I did it. And I was doing de- detention. I don't even know the kids were just sitting there just you know, doing their nothing. And this was after school and my door opens. And this kid comes walking in. And he looks at me, stares me right down, goes over to my wall, he rips the flag down, stares me down, walks back out the door. And the kids in the class who were, you know, the bad kids in detention, they said, "What was that all
051about?" And I was speechless. I said, "Oh, I I I think he just graduated high school." So then the next years that followed, I never put that flag back up. So the next years that followed, kids would come in and they would sit down and they'd say, they'd count all the flags and say, "Hey, where's the Mexican flag?" And I would say, "Why don't you guys sit down? I got a story to tell you." And I I tell them that story and I never put the flag up cuz I like to tell that story cuz it shows it shows the connections that you can make with kids and it's not just me. I just I can be a little voice in their head. Um and I never dreamed that I would be telling you that
052story. Such a So I thank you for listening to it. Thank you for listening to me ramble. The Kluxen Foundation has listened to me ramble a few times already. And um I really want to I guess close up by saying it's not what I I don't I don't even know if I what I do when I'm teaching if it's I mean I like to think it works. I like to think they're learning and connecting and growing. I love to think that, but it's really the connections I'm making with my colleagues, with our counselors, with our administration, with with our students and their families. And I couldn't be more proud to be an ELD teacher in Clarkston. We are growing and we are becoming we are such a beautiful family. And thank you for listening to
053me and for hearing a little bit about what we do with the ELD program. Thank you everybody for being here tonight on behalf of La Fontaine and Clarkston Foundation. Um we want to thank you and congratulate again to Emily and all of the nominees. And I hope you guys have a wonderful night. Congratulations.