Teachers & K-12 Certified Educators

Matt Hamilton East Jordan teacher Matt Hamilton has been selected as one of only five teachers nationwide to receive this year’s Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence, one of the highest honors in public education. Hamilton, a teacher at East Jordan Middle/High School in Charlevoix County, is the founder and leader of the school’s renowned “Shoe Club." The club collects…

By Jessyca Mathews Carman-Ainsworth High School This fall Carman-Ainsworth High School became first in Genesee County to offer the new AP African American Studies class which was piloted nationally over the past two years. “Ms. Mathews, why don't we have Black History courses here?” I've heard this question often over two decades of teaching. In fact I asked the same…

".. I want to open doors for others to have the chance to lead and be role models for all of our students."– Jessyca Mathews, teacher at Carman-Ainsworth High School in Flint and president of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English. MEA member Jessyca Mathews teaches her students to find their passions and bring individual strengths to bear in…

East Jordan teacher Matt Hamilton, founder of his school’s innovative and inspirational “Shoe Club,” holds a pair of shoes donated by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during a recent visit. With snakeskin-patterned shoes in hand to donate, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently visited East Jordan Middle/High School to acknowledge the impactful work of the “Shoe Club,” an initiative to empower teens through teamwork…

A middle school social studies teacher from Rochester and one of his former students worked together to research a Michigan man killed during the Allied Forces’ D-Day invasion of Normandy, France 80 years ago. Then they carried the story to Omaha Beach where that history played out. MEA member Matt Cottone, who teaches world history at Van Hoosen Middle School,…

Chad V. Broughman MEA member Chad V. Broughman worked in early morning hours for 12 years to complete his work of historical-fiction, The Fall of Bellwether, and he pushed past challenges to get it published. But he still finds it hard to talk about himself in pitching the book to readers. This spring the 25-year English teacher from Harbor Springs…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor United Teachers of Flint VP Trishanda Williams In January when seven school board members of Flint Community Schools voted down a settlement agreement between the district and its teachers, their move sparked a crisis which spun into a dramatic three-month showdown culminating in a huge win for United Teachers of Flint. But the historic…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor A high school special education teacher in Farmington, Chris DeYonke (center) received the Paul Blewett Friend of Education Award earlier this month at the MEA Representative Assembly. A few years into his role as president of the Farmington Education Association (FEA), Chris DeYonke was marking member information in a spreadsheet when he stumbled across…

Rochester High School teacher Kelley Cusmano is introduced as the 2024 Michigan Teacher of the Year at a surprise school event on May 7. Surrounded by over 1,600 students, family members, colleagues, and supporters, Rochester High School teacher Kelley Cusmano was presented with Michigan’s Teacher of the Year award for 2024 by State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice. Cusmano, a veteran…

Jeremy Schnotala- Wyoming Education-Association President In Wyoming Public Schools, union leaders and district officials found a way to spend federal COVID-relief dollars that altogether honors the expertise of local educators, promises dynamic instruction for students, and offers a foothold in the profession to early career educators for years to come. The Kent County district used a portion of its federal…