Novi Schools Honor 'Teachers of the Year'

From the Novi Community School District: Today the Novi Community School District announced its Teachers of the Year recognizing one educator from its elementary schools, middle school, and high school.

The 2017 Novi Community School District Teachers of the Year are Parkview Elementary School teacher Diane Garbooshian, Novi Middle School teacher Nancy Moore, and Novi High School teacher Jodie Sikaitis.

Nominated by peers with recommendations made by school administrators, these three recipients have achieved the highest standards of excellence.

Novi School’s Board of Education will officially recognize these outstanding teachers at the Feb. 16 meeting at 7 p.m.

The Novi educators have been nominated for the 2016-17 Oakland County Outstanding Teacher of the Year Awards, which includes a $2,000 cash prize. The county awards will be presented on May 4.

One of the three Novi educators will also win the use of a new automobile for a year when the Novi Educational Foundation – with the support of The Suburban Collection – selects its NCSD Teacher of the Year on March 27.

Here is a look at this year’s Novi Community School District’s Teachers of the Year:

DIANE GARBOOSHIAN – Fourth Grade Teacher, Parkview Elementary School
A 34-year Novi Schools veteran, 42 years in teaching overall, Mrs. Garbooshian began her NCSD tenure at Novi Woods Elementary during the 1982-83 school year. She’s been at Parkview since 1995-96. Prior to her Novi career, Mrs. Garbooshian served eight years at Aris Day School (1973-82) in Dearborn Public Schools. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary Education from Wayne State University in 1972, and a Masters of Education in Mathematics Education from Wayne State in 1982.

Mrs. Gabooshian leads and teaches with her heart. She listens deeply, connects, and dives into each and every student as an individual. She understands students with varying needs and backgrounds. She can magically dissect the students' passions, interests, and thinking to engage them in the learning process. She consistently shows her strong belief in each and every child on a daily basis. Learners feel the sense of belonging in the class because of her cadence and care with everyone around her. Ultimately, all students are modeling this compassion and understanding for others. The students are engaged through lessons that are authentic, real world, and applicable. She has a curiosity that is contagious to her colleagues and her students.

Communication is key to Mrs. Garbooshian's success with parents, staff, and most importantly the students. The professional and respectful manner in which she connects, confronts, and shows compassion for a variety of situations is remarkable. This starts with deep listening and a genuine interest in working with others to solve problems together. She welcomes all voices who have a vested interest in the child. She attends book studies before and after school to continue her learning. She has an extremely strong relationship with her teammates and across the entire school. The staff are honored to work side by side with such a dynamic educator.

NANCY MOORE – Eighth Grade Mathematics Teacher, Novi Middle School
In her 27th year in education, the 21st year at Novi Schools, Mrs. Moore has taught seventh- and eighth-grade mathematics at Novi Middle School since 1996-97. She started her educational career in Brighton Area Schools, teaching high school mathematics for six years. Mrs. Moore has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mathematics and General Studies from Michigan State University in 1978. She earned a Masters of Counseling from Eastern Michigan University in 1983.

With a passion for math, Mrs. Moore truly enjoys the subject area and knows the importance of having a clear understanding for each concept prior to progressing. She constantly encourages students to do their best/quality work and makes sure they do understand by making them explain step by step their procedures so they are prepared for high school math and beyond. Mrs. Moore also makes sure students are given a chance to showcase their work. They are randomly selected to participate in class and explain their solutions to other students. One such way she randomly selects teams of students is through an eight-sided die that she recently purchased.

Mrs. Moore takes a large leadership role at Novi Middle School where she is respected by both staff and students alike. Over the last two years, she has spearheaded the school’s anti-bullying program, which has evolved and activities are now in A20 on Fridays as well as integrated into classrooms throughout the year. Mrs. Moore plans and disseminates A20 Friday no travel activities for staff. She also planned core classroom activities so students understand the anti-bullying message goes beyond A20; it is a school-wide, subject­wide initiative.

JODIE SIKAITIS – Special Education Teacher, Novi High School
In her 23rd year of teaching, the 18th year in the Novi Community School District, Mrs. Sikaitis is a self-contained special education teacher in the Mild Cognitively Impaired (MiCi) Program at Novi High School. Prior to her work in Novi Schools, she worked at the Wing Lake Developmental Center in Bloomfield Hills Schools from 1994-99. Mrs. Sikaitis earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Education from Western Michigan University in 1993. She has a Masters of Education from Eastern Michigan University in 1999.

Mrs. Sikaitis has mentored new teachers, presented at meetings on researched based teaching techniques, and has consulted with Novi staff on how to best meet the needs of students in the MiCi program. She has created curriculum based lessons for her program that both match the Michigan requirements and are interactive for students. Beyond the district requirements, she has participated in elective professional development to hone her craft by attending several of Oakland Schools’ learning series, such as Building your Future, In the Know Literacy, Introduction to Google, and Don Johnston's Solo 6. Mrs. Sikaitis has attended district-level development in the subjects of Maximizing Productivity and Student Creation, Google forms to enhance Learning, Seesaw, and Universal Design for Learning.

Her passion in life is to support students with special needs, and she leads by example. She is constantly working to help support her students access to activities both in and out of school. When a freshman of her' s had an interest in football, she found a way for him to participate on the team, as the hydration engineer. She supported a wish for this same student to run a special touchdown play during the 2016 homecoming game. This simple act will have a lifelong impact on the student's life and that of his family. Mrs. Sikaitis has furthered her work to develop a football camp for students with special needs, and a work-based learning program at Providence Hospital and at The Cat Rack. For the past 10 years, students in this program have worked at the hospital with para support in order to gain real world experience. In The Cat Rack, students work with peer support.

Mrs. Sikaitis is actively involved in community agencies outside of school. She is an active volunteer with the Miracle League, and the First Tee to help teach golf using adaptive equipment. She truly “walks the walk” every day of her life.

Photos courtesy of Novi School District