“Exceptional” profiles – Page 19

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[ October 5, 2026 ] Scarlett Middle School Bands receive $30,951 in instruments through Morgan Wallen’s Give Back Program Features
[ October 2, 2026 ] A minute in the room: Abbot School Librarian Christina Nielsen welcomes an enthusiastic group of third graders A minute in the room
[ October 1, 2026 ] Dicken community celebrates topping off of new school Elementary News
[ September 30, 2026 ] Marietta “Nurse Rita” Brooks-Hayward, Carpenter Elementary School Nurse "Exceptional" profiles
[ September 29, 2026 ] A minute in the room: Quran Jackson teaches the new 4th/5th class at Carpenter Elementary A minute in the room

Nishi Crook, Burns Park fourth grade teacher

June 7, 2019 AAPS News Editor

By Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor Nishi Anjali Crook graduated summa cum laude from Eastern Michigan University in 2012 with a triple minor in mathematics, reading, and integrated sciences. After student teaching with cooperating […]

Cathy Glei, Eberwhite kindergarten teacher

May 30, 2019 AAPS News Editor

By Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor Catherine Glei was born outside Chicago, the oldest of three children born to an inventor/scientist father and a mother who was also a nurse. She attended elementary, middle school […]

Angela Warr, Exceptional School Social Worker

May 23, 2019 AAPS News Editor

By Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor AAPS School Social Work Consultant Angela Warr was recently named the Michigan Association of School Social Workers’ School Social Worker of the Year for Region A. She was nominated […]

Vanessa D’Souza, Burns Park second grade teacher

May 16, 2019 AAPS News Editor

By Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor Vanessa D’Souza, a first-year teacher at Burns Park Elementary, was raised in Ann Arbor by her mother, older brother, and grandmother. Because her mother worked two jobs, D’Souza’s grandmother […]

Kristen Floyd, Forsythe Middle School Intervention Specialist

May 2, 2019 AAPS News Editor

By Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor Kristen Floyd was born and raised on the west side of Detroit, the oldest of 10 children. She says that although her father didn’t finish high school and never […]

Sean Eldon, Huron High School English teacher; department chair

April 18, 2019 AAPS News Editor

Photos and video by Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Sean Eldon grew up in Birmingham, Michigan, the oldest of three children to a carpenter and a bank teller. Neither of his parents had a college degree […]

Kate Odette, Huron High School school nurse; Michigan School Nurse of the Year

April 11, 2019 AAPS News Editor

By Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor Huron High School’s school nurse Kate Odette—who is also the district’s lead nurse—has just been named Michigan School Nurse of the Year. Odette grew up in western Pennsylvania, attended […]

Thurston’s first grade teachers are a powerhouse team of educators, principal says

April 4, 2019 AAPS News Editor

Story, photos and video by Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor When she was asked to nominate a teacher for the weekly Exceptional series of profiles, Thurston Principal Natasha York said that while every teacher in […]

Kim McLean, Clague Middle School librarian

March 22, 2019 AAPS News Editor

By Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor Clague Middle School librarian Kim McLean grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from Temple University, where she studied communications and theater. She started her career in book publishing, where […]

LaKeisha Drummer, third grade teacher at Carpenter Elementary

March 15, 2019 AAPS News Editor

By Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor Born and raised in Ann Arbor by a mother who often emphasized the importance of education, LaKeisha Drummer attended preschool at Pattengill, Lawton Elementary School, Slauson Middle School, and Pioneer High […]