Behavior? There’s a coach for that  

MEA member Lindsey Wilson holds a position in Lowell Area Schools that rarely existed in Michigan school districts just five years ago. Wilson is a behavior coach, assigned to address needs of students exhibiting the most challenging classroom behaviors. She doesn’t work directly with children most of the time. Like an instructional coach, she brings [...]

Green Team promoting sustainability, science, leadership earns national status

In her three decades as an educator, Hayes Elementary art teacher Christine Lakatos never considered herself an environmentalist. Yet Lakatos and her students at the Westland school for years created art using egg cartons, paper towel tubes and other household items that otherwise get tossed. Under Lakatos’ leadership, Hayes Elementary, part of Livonia Public Schools, [...]

An officer and a math teacher

MEA member Kossi Komlassan has led soldiers in combat and teenagers in math class. Both of those identities recently came together in one room at Beaverton Junior/Senior High School (BJSHS) when the third-year educator received a promotion in the Michigan Army National Guard in a ceremony before his family, school community, and the sophomores he […]

Creativity points to passion, purpose: ‘Art is how I dealt with grief’ 

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Big themes recur throughout the story of Grand Rapids art teacher Stephen Smith. Trauma. Grief. Hopelessness. Then creation, connection, community. Images and ideas return like motifs in Smith’s remarkable personal narrative. A 37-year-old San Francisco native, Smith is a multi-faceted and award-winning artist, innovative entrepreneur, emerging community leader—and a […]