Search Begins for Muirhead Teacher of Year
Nomination forms for the 2009-10 Alberta Muirhead Teacher of the Year Award, sponsored by Alberta Muirhead and coordinated by the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce, are now available on the district website at www.dearbornschools.org or the Chamber website, www.dearbornchamber.org.
For those of you who may not know Alberta Muirhead, she and her husband John were founders and longtime owners of Muirhead’s, a Dearborn shop that started as a toy store in 1946 and developed into one of the most successful department stores in the Detroit area. In 1983 Mr. Muirhead passed away, and in 1990, after 43 years in the retail business, Muirhead decided to close her store at Michigan and Military and dedicate her energy to a longstanding passion for community involvement and “giving back”. She later donated her building – that still bears the Muirhead name – to Oakwood.
Forms for the Alberta Muirhead Teacher of the Year Award are also available at all Dearborn Public Schools, and the district Administration Office, 18700 Audette.
Students can nominate new or veteran teachers whom they feel have made outstanding contributions to the teaching profession.
– Preschool through fifth-grade students are asked to describe how their teacher has created a classroom where learning is positive and fun.
– Middle school students (grades 6-8) will need to explain how their teacher connects classroom learning with everyday life.
– Students in high school must describe how their teacher is preparing them to be successful beyond high school.
Adults are allowed to assist in the application process, but nominations must come from students. Applications will be assessed on quality of the nomination, not on the number received. Award judges are members of the Dearborn Chamber Education Committee and are not provided with the teachers’ names.
Teachers selected to receive the Teacher of Year award are being recognized as positive role models who consistently provide unique, productive, positive classroom experiences.
Teachers selected receive a $1,000 cash prize, a plaque commemorating their achievement, and will be part of a select group of Dearborn teachers who have been recognized by the community for their dedication and passion for teaching.
Completed forms must be turned in to the Chamber Office by March 26, 2010. Please mail both sides of the nomination form to the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce, 22100 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, MI 48124, or fax to 313-584-9818.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Mr. Deep,
Thanks for publicizing the ‘Teacher of the Year’ program. I remember when my family helped nominate a teacher, and he was awarded the prize that year. Mr. Curry of OL Smith, now retired, was the most amazing math teacher ever.
I encourage everyone to have their children reflect on their teachers, and submit a nomination if one of their teachers – it might be a teacher from last year – was outstanding. The teachers are always ‘grading’ the students. This is a time the student can grade the teachers.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
If my kid had a teacher that was worthy of a nomination I would. However, in the three years he has been at Dearborn Schools (7-9th grade) he has not had one teacher that even meets a minimum standard let alone a teacher of the year. So sad!!