Michigan Teacher of the Year

Luke Wilcox welcomes the third cohort of the Rising Teacher Leaders group

By Erin Albanese

While Michigan Teacher of the Year Luke Wilcox has already delved into his statewide responsibilities, he isn’t forgetting the new crop of teachers at East Kentwood High School. In fact, he plans to use his experience with them to impact other Michigan schools.

Wilcox recently welcomed 11 new high school teachers, several fresh out of college, to boot camp for Rising Teacher Leaders, a group he started with English teacher Mike Traywick. They gathered inside the AP statistics classroom he has to leave for the year to fulfill his Teacher of the Year roles.

“One of my goals is to figure out how to best support new teachers, not just in Kentwood but across the state,” said Wilcox, who received the honor in May and is credited for helping create a culture of success at East Kentwood. “I’m now thinking of what we are doing here in Kentwood as an experimental lab, where we are trying ideas and refining ideas with the goal that we replicating some of the things we are doing here.

“As Michigan Teacher of the Year I have that platform where I could expand the programs into other schools,” he said.

New East Kentwood teachers take in some tips from Luke Wilcox

Tapping into Kentwood Talent

With its third cohort beginning this fall, Rising Teacher Leaders serves as a schoolwide teacher support system with 32 teachers now involved. Each year a new cohort begins, receiving mentorship from the previous ones. The goal is for the majority of teachers in the school to eventually be Rising Teacher Leaders.

Wilcox greeted teachers before leading them on a tour of the school. In classrooms, teachers in the first two cohorts presented on topics they find of value for new Kentwood teachers.

“It’s super exciting,” said math teacher Sarah Stecker, who is beginning her first year at East Kentwood. “I met Luke awhile ago and I was really inspired by his teaching style and I am excited to get to work with him.”

“I feel like it’s really comforting just to know you have a group to lean on and go to with questions,” said Katie Roth, a health and biology teacher starting her first year after graduating from Central Michigan University. “They are having the same struggles. You feel less alone. I think it’s cool that (Wilcox) wants to give back to teachers.”

Rising Teacher Leaders meets weekly for professional development focused on helping teachers in their first few years. Topics are anything teachers want to discuss, questions they have, or things they want to brainstorm. Wilcox sees it as a way for teachers to grow in the profession surrounded by colleagues they know, trust and can learn from.

Traywick said Wilcox’s work as Teacher of the Year means more opportunities and value for the group.

“I’m hoping it brings us more ideas. It should amplify what we are trying to do here tenfold,” he said. “Wilcox is one of the best in the nation. To be able to tap that knowledge will be a big deal.”

Wilcox wants to help keep momentum going at East Kentwood, which climbed from the 4th percentile (meaning 19 out of 20 schools in Michigan were deemed better) to the 49th percentile rank statewide since 2012, after receiving Priority School status based on standardized test scores, graduation rates and achievement gaps.

“I still want to have impact, and I want East Kentwood High School to be great. I feel like this is a way I can maintain some influence on the positive direction we’ve had in the past few years.”

Wilcox’s work to support teachers is already expanding further than East Kentwood. He is developing a teacher leadership academy at Van Andel Education Institute for teachers to support each other, develop skills and learn new strategies.

Michigan Teacher of the Year Luke Wilcox, at right, chats with new East Kentwood teachers

From left to right, teachers Heather Gauck, Cheryl Corpus, Luke Wilcox, Tracy Horodyski, Dave Stuart, Shantel VanderGalien and Christina Gilbert celebrate National Board Certification completion

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

Big names in teaching in Kent County – Michigan Teachers of the Year for 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 – have joined forces to share the best ways to engage students and get them to achieve at high levels.

A cohort of 12 teachers, including six from Kent County and six from the metro-Detroit area, met over the past year to achieve National Board Certification, recently submitting their work, which is similar to a Ph.D. thesis, for final consideration. Certification results will be available in early December.

Kent County teachers, who met at Kent ISD, are:

Luke Wilcox, math teacher at East Kentwood High School and 2017-2018 Teacher of the Year
Dave Stuart, history and English teacher at Cedar Springs High School and 2017-2018 Michigan Teacher of the Year finalist
Chris Painter, math teacher at Cedar Springs High School
Tracy Horodyski, reading interventionist and instructional coach at Zinser Elementary School and 2016-2017 Michigan Teacher of the Year from Kenowa Hills Public Schools
Heather Gauck, special education teacher at Harrison Park Elementary School in Grand Rapids Public Schools
Shantel VanderGalien, English teacher at Wyoming Junior High

The teachers received scholarships from the Michigan Department of Education to pursue the 25-year-old certification in partnership with the Michigan National Board Certified Teachers Network. National Board Certified teachers are under-represented in Kent County, and getting more of them certified is part of an effort to help Michigan become a Top 10 education state in 10 years, said Cheryl Corpus, an NBCT consultant for the Michigan organization and a National Board Certified teacher in English as a New Language. To date, more than 112,000 teachers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have achieved National Board Certification.

Certification a Plus for Students

The credential is considered a hallmark of accomplishment across the state and nationally, Corpus said. The certification process involves teachers learning from each other, reflecting and sharing practices and promoting high standards. Together, they watch videos of each other’s teaching and reflect on evidence of effective instruction. The process was facilitated by Corpus and Christina Gilbert, a Godfrey Elementary School teacher who is National Board Certified.

Historically, National Board Certified teachers outperform their non-certified peers in improving student achievement, Corpus said.

“When teachers come together and reflect on their instruction, students and practices, it’s one of the most powerful and meaningful professional learning opportunities in our career,” Corpus said. “It’s that culture of reflection, problem-solving and becoming lifelong learners.”

Teachers said they have improved their practice as a result, becoming more deeply in tune with their students.

“I have gained so much from the process,” Vandergalien said. “I had to record lessons to submit and that was such a valuable tool. I really enjoyed being able to capture excellent conversation and activities occurring in my classroom, and then being able to share that with colleagues.”

Horodyski said the focus on helping each other continually improve teaching for the sake of learners inevitably results in improved results.

“This type of shared learning experience empowers educators, and empowered educators equal empowered students,” she said. “There’s a ripple effect that influences beyond what will ever be known to us.”

Wilcox said the National Board has very clear definitions of what it means to be a master teacher, and he has that in mind as he embarks on his year as Michigan Teacher of the Year.

” I am now very familiar with the qualities and actions that make teachers great, and I will use this framework to guide my work,” Wilcox said. “I will encourage other great teachers to consider going after this certification in order to push them forward.”

Candidates will now become ambassadors for the Michigan Department of Education, working as teacher leaders in their field.

“It has improved my teaching by getting me to open up to my students about why I do the things I’m doing in the classroom, and verbalizing it to them so that they can understand it,” VanderGalien said. “I think that helps them to buy into the process of what is going on in the classroom.

“They also appreciate the fact that I am working hard to be the best teacher I can be for them.”