Novi Elementary Teacher Receives Car As Teacher Of The Year

NOVI, MI — Village Oaks Elementary first grade teacher Lisa Rice has been announced as Novi Community School District’s 2018 Teacher of the Year. The honor is a partnership between the Novi Educational Foundation and The Suburban Collection. Rice will receive a two or three-year lease on a brand new vehicle of her choice to reward her for her service to students and the education community.

“Outstanding teachers make a tremendous difference – in the lives of their students, in the culture of their building, with their colleagues,” Steve Matthews, superintendent for Novi Schools, said in a press release. “Mrs. Rice makes a difference. Mrs. Rice's deep devotion to her students, her deep commitment to ensuring that her students learn, and her willingness to continually improve her skills make her a worthy recipient of this year's (Teacher of the Year).

In her 24th year at Village Oaks, Rice, who earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Madonna University, is the second teacher from the elementary school to receive this honor in the last four years. Several members from Novi Schools' administrative team and school board attended Monday's surprise announcement, including board president Bobbie Murphy and trustee Kathy Hood, as well as Novi City Councilwoman Laura Marie Casey. Representatives from Madonna university, including the school mascot, Cruzer, also were on hand to honor Rice.

“Our program of rewarding outstanding teachers is our way of showing gratitude to the dedicated individuals who contribute so much to the development of our children,” said David Fischer, Jr., president and COO of The Suburban Collection. “We feel very fortunate that our organization has been able to provide a special thank you for the past 16 years for the exemplary efforts of teachers in the communities in which we do business.”

The Novi Community School District nominates three teachers – one each at the elementary, middle and high school level. This year’s nominees also included Stephanie Boersma, a seventh-grade English Language Arts teacher from Novi Middle School and Heidi Pendergraff, a Family Consumers Sciences teacher at Novi High School. Each year, the NEF executive board completes a second review of the applications, solicits additional feedback from parents, students, and the community, and then makes the difficult decision.

“Novi Community School District is filled with so many wonderful, enthusiastic teachers that selecting just one of these teachers for the Novi Educational Foundation/The Suburban Collection Teacher of the Year is very challenging,” said Tom Smith, NEF chairman. “This award allows us to bring recognition to the high caliber of teaching professionals within the Novi Community School District and the leadership they demonstrate each day in the classroom.”

In addition to Novi, The Suburban Collection this year is awarding vehicle leases to Teachers of the Year in eight other communities in Southeastern Michigan: Birmingham, Clarkston, Cranbrook, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Sterling Heights/Utica, Troy and Waterford.

Photo courtesy The Novi Community School District