The Detroit Pistons and Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan welcomed five Game Changer honorees to reveal their $10,000 grand prize winner. Each of the honorees are local educators who continuously go above and beyond for their students. Due to their extraordinary efforts, each educator was awarded $1000 for their classrooms.
Congratulations to Renaissance high school's Ms Kiarra Ambrose, Detroit Pistons 2017-18 Game Changer of the Year.
Ms Ambrose has committed nearly a decade to educating youth in the city she loves, Detroit. Throughout her teaching career, she has successfully led high school courses in Algebra I, Honors Geometry, and Honors Algebra II.
Ms Ambrose has also taken on multiple leadership roles including: Math Content Leader, Mentor Teacher, Dance Coach, National Honors Society Advisor, Math Club Advisor, Class of 2020 sponsor - and still has committed time to tutor/mentor students outside of the classroom.
She currently works with young girls through Amachi, a non-profit organization that focuses on a holistic approach to providing services to youth, educators, and adults. The service works with children and adolescents to help provide the values and skills they need to become exceptional community leaders and members.
Vic Verchereau, Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan's vice-president of marketing presented Ms Ambrose with a $10,000 check for her school.
Congrats again to Ms Ambrose, you da real M-V-P.
Other Game Changer educators awarded $1000 to their schools were:
Kelly Rickert - James & Grace Lee Boggs School
Kelly Rickert has been teaching for 5 years, and is currently the 1st/2nd grade teacher for the "Painted Turtles" classroom at the James and Grace Lee Boggs School on the East side of Detroit.
She believes that there are opportunities for learning in the people and places all around us, and collaborates with Boggs families, community members, and spaces around the school to further extend her classroom's boundaries, and root the learning done there in place.
Stephanie Griffin - Cass Tech High School
Stephanie Griffin is a veteran teacher that teaches with the students’ needs in mind. Ms. Griffin supports all learning styles and offers the appropriate educational supports based on the students’ varied learning styles.
Ms. Griffin is a Steering Committee Member of The Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren. In this capacity, she advocates for educational equality for all students; particularly Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) students.
Ryan Moitozo - Trillium Academy
Ryan Moitozo has been teaching Social Studies at Trillium Academy in Taylor for the past four years. He strives to inspire his students to appreciate the importance of history and to encourage them to become positive forces for change in our world. Whether he is leading his class in a debate about gun control or registering his seniors to vote in the fall, Mr. Moitozo is always trying to inspire his students with his passion for Social Studies.
Other than teaching, he is also the head advisor for the National Honor Society, and he takes great pride in the many good deeds NHS does for their school and for their community. Overall, Mr. Moitozo is driven by his love to teach and his love for his students.
Sylvia Sturgis - International Technology Academy
Sylvia Sturgis is an ELA teacher at the International Technology Academy in Pontiac, Michigan. Ms. Sturgis is a very dedicated and passionate teacher who goes beyond the regular school day providing tutoring services, coaching various sports teams, and co-founding the School District of the City of Pontiac’s first Japanese Student Exchange Program.
Recently, she traveled to Kusatsu, Japan with a group of 11 middle school student ambassadors and chaperones.
SHOUT OUT to all educators around the world. THANK YOU for all that you do.