This week’s Michigan Lottery Excellence in Education winner is Liz Younglove.
Her nominator said she is a talented educator with a lot of creativity.
“She comes up with some really good ideas of how to take Michigan history and bring it to the classroom,” they said. “She did maple syrup construction and history of that throughout the state, tapped some maple trees right here on the property and collected that sap with the students, talked about how that’s connected to Michigan and its history.”
Younglove said she sees getting to know her students as a key to success as a teacher.
"So many students come into the classroom with so many different backgrounds and life experiences, and it’s not about putting out cookie-cutter kids; it’s about impacting them wherever they are," she said. “Sometimes that’s academic and sometimes that’s personal. But I just think that the opportunity that teachers have to impact kids is really important."
Younglove from Pine River Area Elementary receives a $2,000 check from Lottery commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. Excellence in Education Awards sponsored by the Michigan Lottery, providing more than $29 billion to public education since 1972.
