On Friday, October 4, Kingsley Area Schools was proud to welcome the Michigan Department of Education Teacher of the Year, Kelley Cusmano, for a tour of the district. Kingsley is the first of nine stops the Rochester High English teacher will make across the state.
Cusmano is touring the districts of the other nine 24-25 Regional Teacher of the Year honorees. Today, she was guided by Kingsley Elementary's third-grade teacher, Molly Dunham, the Region 2 Teacher of the Year.
“As a regional Teacher of the Year honoree, I’m really excited to share the good things we’re doing here in Kingsley,” said Dunham.
As honorees, Dunham and Cusmano are representing the voice of teachers statewide as they work directly with the Department of Education to solve Michigan’s most pressing educational issues.
Their day began before the school bell even rang, as Dunham and Cusmano greeted enthusiastic elementary students as they arrived. The two educators spent the day immersed in classrooms, observing and celebrating the learning happening within the district.
Cusmano says her first impression of the district is how strong the community ties are.
“I've just noticed so much Kingsley pride with all of the signs and their S.T.A.G acronym posted everywhere [Safety, Trustworthy, Acts Responsibly, Gives Respect],” said Cusmano. “I could see the community pride from the minute I walked in the door.”
The 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year says she hopes these tours and experiences will help inform her ahead of state and national meetings with education stakeholders.
“I want to be able to talk about districts other than my own when I’m at the table in discussions with the Department of Education. I want to be able to have experiences from Michigan schools to connect the dots so to speak when it comes to statewide initiatives,” said Cusmano. “Here in Kingsley, there's been some rock star teachers doing some really cool work.”
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