GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Monday marks the beginning of Teacher Appreciation Week throughout Michigan and the rest of the United States as students, families, and schools recognize the work of teachers on and off campus. 

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“In schools across America, teachers are arriving early to set up classrooms, spending long hours educating students, and staying late to prepare tomorrow’s lesson plans,” President Joe Biden said in a release. “Their devotion to our children embodies the best of America — ready to serve and eager to see others thrive.  Today and during this week, we celebrate our Nation’s remarkable teachers and early childhood educators, and we recommit to having their backs, just as they have ours.”

In recent years, Michigan has continued to invest more via resources and funding to help equip teachers in the state to address needs in the classroom. 

“Working together within your classrooms, schools, and communities and engaging with stakeholders is part of the education process,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer and State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice said in a letter to more than 91,000 teachers across the state. “Teaching is a challenging occupation that requires you to wear a lot of different hats. You support children academically and socioemotionally. Each of you serves as a consistent, positive, trustworthy presence in your students’ lives.”

Among Michigan’s Top 10 Strategic Education Plan, one of the goals is to increase the numbers of certified teachers in areas of shortage which includes recognizing Michigan’s educators as “an important piece of recruiting and retaining quality educators.” 

During March and April, the Michigan Department of Education collected video submissions from students and community members highlighting which teachers had “positively impacted them” and will be posting new videos throughout May here. 

By the end of April, Michigan had sent six state finalists for the Presidential Teaching Award earlier in the month, and are awaiting the results of the competition to be announced later this month. 

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According to the state, Michigan’s six state finalists are:

  • Bryan Battaglia, Gene L. Klida Utica Academy for International Studies, Utica Community Schools, Science
  • Diane Cerabone, Dakota High School, Chippewa Valley Schools, Mathematics
  • Steven Koponen, Warner Middle School, Farmington Public Schools, Mathematics
  • Scott Milam, Plymouth High School, Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, Science
  • Leigh Roehm, Saline Middle School, Saline Area Schools, Science
  • Karen Sleno, Flushing High School, Flushing Community Schools, Mathematics

Each year, up to two teachers in the departments of mathematics or science from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other U.S. Territories as a group, have the opportunity to receive the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).