2022-2023 MDN Extraordinary Educators 6/24/23

Extraordinary Educators

FEATURING THE THREE CHOSEN EDUCATORS FROM THE 2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR AND ALL THE NOMINEES

Michael Hiddings

St. John’s Lutheran’s Hiddings named Extraordinary Educator

By Ben Jodway - Midland

Michael Hiddings, a math teacher and a coach at St. John’s Lutheran School, has been teaching for seven years. He was inspired by teachers he had around him as he grew up, he said.

“When I was going through school, they were just so supportive,” Hiddings said. “(They) helped me learn and helped me grow as a person.”

Hidding has been

News

named an Extraordinary Educator by the Midland Daily News.

He first started coaching as an assistant coach when he was in high school, he said. He started to get even more involved in education during college while studying to become a math teacher.

“I was working in my grade school growing up, and it felt like I was called to be a teacher and have that same kind of influence my

teachers had on me,” he said.

In the classroom, Hiddings said he loves interacting with students.

“It shows me that they enjoy being in school, and they enjoy learning, that they’re growing,” Hiddings said. “(I love) those light bulb moments where they clearly finally understood a concept or something they were struggling with.”

Bullock Creek Elementary’s Napoli named Extraordinary Educator

By Ben Jodway - Midland Daily News

Bullock Creek Ele -

mentary School

second-grade teacher Mary Napoli used to work as a marketer, but then realized that her heart was in education.

She volunteered in an elementary school while working at her corporate job, where she said she was “not quite as happy” as she is now.

“I so enjoyed my experience doing that,” she said of volunteering.

“It sparked my inter-

est in looking into the possibility of changing careers.”

Napoli enrolled in DePaul University’s accelerated teaching course, where she got her degree before coming to Bullock Creek.

Napoli has been named an Extraordinary Educator by the Midland Daily News.

“The Bullock Creek community has been welcoming since day one,” she said. “They’re just so supportive. It’s

really like a big family here at Bullock Creek.”

Seeing second-graders form friendships and develop their personalities is Napoli’s favorite part of teaching, she said. They’ve taught her kindness and friendship.

“It is the most challenging work I’ve ever done,” she said. “However, it is so rewarding in the relationships that you develop and those that you get to touch. It’s unlike anything else.”

Daily

Michael Hiddings Photo Credit: St. John’s Lutheran School

Mary Napoli Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mary Napoli

Mary Napoli

Central Park Elementary’s Wolanin named Extraordinary Educator

By Ben Jodway - Midland Daily News

Central Park Elementary School special education teacher

Laura Wolanin has been teaching for 16 years, and she said other educators have inspired her throughout her career.

Wolanin’s mother, Nancy Wolanin, was also an elementary school teacher.

“Education has always been a part of my blood,” said Wolanin, who has been named an Extraordinary Edu-

cator by the Midland Daily News. “I had the opportunity to shadow a teacher as a senior at Midland High, and just fell in love with working with students in the classroom.”

Wolanin loves moments when students are unintentionally funny, she said.

“It lightens the mood and reminds me of the unexpected joys in the classroom,” she said.

As a special education teacher, Wolanin

said she is able to work with students for multiple years and build relationships that she cherishes.

“Be prepared for a lot of long days and find joy in the small victories,” she said of her advice for prospective teachers. “Surround yourself with other educators who push you to be better. I’m really lucky to work with incredible people.”

Laura Wolanin Photo Credit: Courtesy of Laura Wolanin

Laura Wolanin

Extraordinary Educators

Lau

e – Central Park Elem entar y

Mr s. DeGro at g oe s abo ve an d beyo n d fo r he r kin de rgarten e r s. She succe ssfu lly invite s stu dents fro m var io u s intelle ctual backg ro un ds to he r excitin g kin gdo m of kn o wle dg e. He r patience, w isdo m, an d en dle ss kin dn e ss fu lly pro ve that she is an o utstan din g e ducato r w ith a heart of g old.

Trevo r M obe r ly – He r itag e Hig h Scho ol

Fo r g o in g abo ve & beyo n d fo r h is stu dents makin g su re they have a g reat science e ducatio n exp e r ience. Fo r always makin g labs an d lear n in g fu n in h is cla ssro o m.

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Laura works tirele ssly to ensure eve r y o ne of he r 4th g ra de stu dents lear ns as much as possible Like most teache rs, she works o ve rtim e prepar ing for scho ol days As a teache r in a Title 1 scho ol, she has to o ve rco m e unique challenge s as so m e of her stu dents are impacte d by things no child should have to deal w ith.

Teaching is truly a calling w ith Laura an d I am amaze d at how she helps so many children get the ser vices they nee d to be successful an d how she can manage to advance all her stu dent’s kn o wle dge regardle ss of w hat level they are at.

Co ng ratu latio Extraordina io ns

She is so patient w ith the n ew stu dents co m in g to scho ol fo r the fir st tim e. She is helpfu l an d tr u ly care s abo ut he r stu dents. She make s lear n in g fu n fo r the ki ds!

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to o ne of o ur dinar y Educators!

Kelly Skutt – Plymo uth Elem entar y

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Sarah DeGro at – Wo o dcre st Elem entar y

Co ng ratu la Extraor

heart atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Mar y Napoli - Bu llo ck Creek Elem entar y Scho ol

Mrs. Napoli is the definitio n of what a seco n d-g ra de teacher sho u ld be Kin d, creative, unique, un derstan ding, an d most importantly PATIENT She not o nly co m municates effectively w ith her stu dents but also w ith parents She goes ABOVE AND BEYOND to make sure parents get to see the joy of acco mplishment an d learning o n stu dents’ faces, the smiles an d highlights of nature, an d most importantly the co mfort an d kin dness that ra diates o ut of the classro o m an d into o ur littles lives While Mrs Napoli has ma de sure her stu dents are receiving the up-most appro pr iate e ducatio n in all subjects, she also makes sure to g ive them lesso ns abo ut life She has de dicate d several ho urs of he r own time to fin ding appro pr iate bo oks an d planning lesso ns to deal w ith acknowle dg ing feeling s an d u sing applicable techniques when dealing w ith them Mrs Napoli also devote d a whole MONTH of kin dness Each day she teaches an d demo nstrates beautifu l examples of how to be a go o d citizen an d perso n. Inspir ing her stu dents by teaching them to build up others is tr u ly the definitio n of a real e ducator. Bravo Mrs. Napoli, my so n an d I tr u ly appreciate yo u!!!

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Cie ra Rill – Lear n in g Tree Co

Cie ra create s such a safe an d war m enviro nm ent fo r he r Pre scho ole r s. Yo u can tell she absolutely lo ve s bein g an e ducato r.

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

ra Kipfm ille r – Siebe rt Elem entar y

Ms. Kip create d a str ucture d an d engag ing class that kept o ur so n wanting to g o to scho ol each day. He str uggle s both aca demically an d socially due to a disability. She was acco m mo dating w hen nece ssar y an d allo we d him to g ro w an d develo p at his pace. She was always enco urag ing dur ing difficu lt tim e s an d co ntin ue d to create a bo n d w ith him that we haven’t seen w ith any othe r teache r thro ug ho ut his caree r. He lo ve s scho ol again becau se of his

Co ng ratu la Extraor

He scho se 4th g ra de teache r. atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Co ng ratu la Extraor

Elem entar y

Lau ra Wolan in wo rks as a Spe cial Educatio n teache r an d g oe s o ve r an d beyo n d eve r y day fo r he r stu dents. He r stro n g passio n is co ntag io u s as she lea ds staff in he r ro o m to be st help su ppo rt stu dents. She wo rks quickly to implem ent n ew plans as ch ildren’s n ee ds chan g e an d is a stro n g motivato r w h ile they co mplete their wo rk

co mplete wo rk.

atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Lau ra Wolan in – Central Park

Lau

Joshua

Josh has ALWAYS wante d to teach an d he LOVES h is stu dents an d the stu dents LOVE Josh! Parents have appro ache d h is da d an d I w hen they see o u r last nam e an d want to kn o w if we are relate d to “Mr. T ” an d they co ntin ue to tell u s ho w awe so m e he is an d ho w much their ki ds lo ve h im!!

Hayley Elsen – Central Park Elem entar y

A teache r w ho tr u ly g oe s abo ve an d beyo n d fo r he r stu dents. It’s amazin g ho w many of he r fo r m e r stu dents co ntact he r sayin g ho w she ma de an impact o n their live s. She even ha d a parent fro m a diffe rent class sen d he r flo we r s an d says THANKS! Great example fo r the yo uth of the co m mun ity. All w h ile raisin g two yo un g ch ildren of he r o w n!!

Co ng ratu la Extraor

y c atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Sarah wo rks hard to make su re eve r y pre scho ole r feels co mfo rtable in he r ro o m. She always has fu n w ith he r ki ds an d make s su re they lear n th in g s by teach in g in fu n creative ways.

Je ssica Sp ence r

Aubu r n Area Catholic Scho ol

Mrs Spence r is the kin de rgarten teache r at Aubur n Area Catholic Scho ol, locate d in the small to w n of Aubur n. Mrs Spence r is tr u ly o ne of a kin d - she is n ot o nly teaching children basics like the alphabet, wr iting their nam e, an d lear ning a d ditio n - she also teache s the se small children kin dne ss, empathy, an d re spect Mrs. Spence r ’ s class make s cards for local n ursing ho m e s, cards for Vete rans, etc The children are lear ning so much aca demically, but also lear ning life-lo ng le sso ns as wellto lo ve an d support othe rs w ith eve r ything that yo u have. Mrs. Spence r is ju st an amazing teache r

Co ng

la Extraor

r. atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Sarah Crawfo rd – Heavens Ele ct Chr istian Lear n in g Scho ol

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

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To u sig nant – Central Park Elem entar y

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Mar y is a o nce in a millio n teache r. She has excee de d my expectatio ns again w ith my seco n d child. The way she can make the co nnectio n w ith each child an d have them hang o nto eve r y word she teache s, an d they retain the infor matio n becau se she has that co nnectio n w ith each stu dent. I w ish I wo u ld have ha d a teache r as stimu lating, passio nate, do w n to earth as Mar y is.

creative ways to teach

have

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Extraordinary Educators

Mr s. Chappel is so incre dibly kin d an d fun!

She is un de r stan din g an d teache s the ki ds in such g reat ways that n ot o nly su ppo rts them aca demically, but emotio nally to o.

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Michael Hi d din g s - St. John’s Luthe ran

Mr. “H” as his fans (stu dents) call him is de dicate d to his profe ssio n an d g oe s abo ve an d beyo n d for o ur yo uth. Not o nly is he a math teache r, he is also athletic director, socce r coach, club a dvisor an d gui dance co unselor to o ur ki ds! He is co mpassio nate an d enco urag ing He allo ws the pe rso nalitie s of each child to shine thro ug h an d n urture s eve r yo ne’s abilitie s an d co ntr ibutio ns that make the classro o m cohe sive an d functio ning. He is able to divi de the se r io u sne ss of teaching w ith the playfu lne ss an d imag inatio n of being a ki d. The stu dents re spect him becau se he offe rs them mutual re spect He m eets their ene rgy an d spir it w hen appro pr iate an d is g o ofy an d laug hs w ith them Not o nly w ill my ki ds miss having him as a teache r but I w ill miss watching the incre dible impact he’s having o n the live s of yo uth in o ur area. He puts in co untle ss extra ho urs an d thanks w ill neve r be en o ug h.

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

As a lo n g te r m e ducato r of spe cial n ee ds stu dents, Car r ie has sho w n the attr ibute s of an exce ptio nal spe cial e ducato r.

Daw n has wo rke d w ith o u r g ir ls fo r two year s n o w, an d we co u ldn’t be happie r w ith he r as o n e of their fir st teache r s! He r care, patience, an d lo ve fo r teach in g is so evi dent w hen watch in g he r inte ract w ith the ki ds. She is a g reat asset to an alrea dy wo n de rfu l team at Memo r ial Pre sbyte r ian Pre scho ol!

Em ma Chappel - Bu llo ck Creek Elem entar y

Daw n Ra dek - Memo r ial Pre sbyte r ian Pre scho ol

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Car r ie Flo rey - Adams Elem entar y

Nicky puts he r heart an d so u l in makin g Flo yd pre scho ol a succe ss. She has g reat relatio nsh ips w ith fam ilie s an d staff helpin g u s foste r those positive co nn e ctio ns. She is a g reat lea de r an d mo dels positive gui dance to he r staff. She create s a safe space w he re ch ildren feel lo ve d

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Em ily Ca sso w – Bu llo ck Creek Elem entar y

My child co m e s ho m e eve r y day an d is excite d to tell u s all abo ut he r day at scho ol. Mrs. Casso w’s kin dne ss, patience, creativity, an d passio n for teaching shine thro ug h each an d eve r y o ne of the stor ie s we hear. Mrs. Casso w has an engag ing teaching style that make s it easy for he r stu dents to be excite d abo ut lear ning an d scho ol. The lear ning enviro nm ent that Mrs Casso w create s has le d to amazing aca demic g ro wth for my child an d I have n o do ubt that this is tr ue for the re st of he r stu dents also. She develo ps positive relatio nships w ith he r stu dents that can be seen n ot o nly in he r cur rent class, but in the way he r past stu dents talk abo ut he r. We are ete r na

pa nally g ratefu l for Mrs Casso w!

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atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Mrs. Lacey was the key reaso n for the amazing transfor matio n of my so n in 1st g ra de. She un de rsto o d him an d allo we d him the space to think thro ug h his actio ns w hen he make s a mistake an d gave him to ols an d remin de rs to make a positive change himself in his behavior. It was such a ble ssing to have he r in o ur live s.

His de dicatio n an d co m mit m ent to the ban d stu dents at Do w Hig h Scho ol is amazin g. He has been a positive influence an d role mo del to many of them. Mu sic can be seen as mo re of an extracu r r icu lar activity, but it isn’t. Many lo n g ho u r s of practice g oe s into it an d

“Stevie D” always enco u rag e s the stu dents to n ot g ive u p.

ur

Ste phen DeRee s – H.H. Do w Hig h Scho ol

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o

rdinar y Educators!

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!

Kara Lacey - Bu llo ck Creek Elem entar y Scho ol

an d

ppo rte

Nicky M o rgan - Flo yd Co m mu n ity Pre scho ol

Co ng ratu la Extraor atio ns to o ne of o ur rdinar y Educators!