MONTCALM COUNTY, Mich. — The Montcalm Area Intermediate School District (ISD) serves many students including those with special needs in districts throughout the county. One of those teachers was just chosen as our next Teacher of the Week. We surprised her at Lincoln Heights Elementary in Greenville.
Her name is Brittany Danner. 13 ON YOUR SIDE had hoped to surprise her and we did. She said how she was feeling after, saying, “Feel surprised and thankful for whoever wrote in. I don’t know who wrote in.”
Kristen Larson is the special education supervisor with Montcalm Area ISD. She said, “There couldn’t be more of a perfect teacher to be recognized. She is incredibly hardworking and dedicated and passionate about her students and providing the best education possible to them.”
“It’s a lot of hard work but I wouldn’t change it,” said Danner speaking of her time as a teacher.
It’s a career path that was carved out since childhood.
“My mom actually does in-home daycare. So, I’ve been around kids for a long time,” said Danner.
She graduated from the Special Education program at Grand Valley State University and is now in her third year of teaching.
Larson spoke to just how many families Danner impacts, saying, “Brittany actually has students from all seven of our local school districts in Montcalm County.”
Her students got involved with our surprise in a unique way.
“Those are called AAC devices, and they serve as a communication tool for some of our students who are nonverbal,” said Larson, adding, “That becomes their words, right? We know that we want all of our students to have access to a voice.”
The students used their voices on this day to give thanks to their teacher.
“Means a lot. Means that parents or students are actually seeing the works that’s going in,” said Danner.
“Education is hard and anytime you can stop and thank any educators from our teachers to our social workers to our occupational therapists to para educators. Anybody that works within schools, they are doing an amazing job educating our children,” said Larson.
If you have someone you’d like to nominate as your next Teacher of the Week, just text the word “teacher” to 616-559-1310.
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