Dearborn Teachers Of Year Honored

DEARBORN, MI — Four Dearborn teachers were recently honored as being the city’s best for the 2016-17 school year. More than 1,800 teachers were nominated by students for the Alberta Muirhead Teacher of the Year Awards. It is the awards program’s 20th year.

Julie Spencer of Henry Ford Elementary in the pre-K to second- grade category, Nagwa Ali of Maples Elementary at the third- to fifth-grade level, Elham Barbat of Salina Intermediate School at the middle school level and science teacher Thomas Brown of Dearborn High at the high school level, according to a Dearborn Press and Guide report. The awards ceremony was held May 24 at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

The student nominating Spencer praised her as a teacher who makes learning fun with games and a well-stocked classroom library. “She is the best teacher in the whole wide universe and galaxy, and I love her,” the student wrote in Spencer’s nomination. “Please, please pick her for the best ever teacher.”

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Ali, meanwhile, was described as a teacher who sometimes uses baked goods to master fractions, the Press and Guide reported. “She lets us bake treats on Fridays, and treats are really yummy, but they also help us do math,” a student wrote. “Even though there are a lot of other things that she does, this one is the best.”

Ali’s nominator described her as a great motivator. “I do not know what I would do in my life without my teacher,” she said. “She makes coming to school easy.”
Barbat, the winning middle school teacher, uses everyday circumstances to help make math relevant. “The example she gave us was how construction men need to have the right measurement of every piece,” the teacher’s nominator wrote. “This is important because if they don’t get the right measurements, the building can collapse.”

The high school honoree, Thomas Brown, teaches science at Dearborn High School. His nominator wrote that he helps prepare students for life beyond high school.

“He always tries his hardest to make sure each individual is guaranteed to reach their full potential, not only in class, but in life,” she said. “He reminds us that learning does not always have to be boring. He is someone I truly admire for showing us there are some things in life that will only be damaging to you if you let them.”

Photo of Maples Elementary School via Google Maps.