Lynne Cobb (second from right) poses for a photo with her husband, Chris, and Wilcox Elementary principal, Traci Heuhs, after accepting her Excellence in Education award from Michigan State University basketball coach Tom Izzo.
An Ingham County educator known for her personal involvement and support for each student and her dedication to helping them succeed has been honored with an Excellence in Education award from the Michigan Lottery.
The award winner, Lynne Cobb, teaches second and third grades at Wilcox Elementary in Holt. The school is part of the Holt Public Schools district.
The Michigan Lottery established the Excellence in Education award program in 2014 to recognize outstanding public school educators across the state during the school year.
Winners of the weekly award receive a plaque, a $500 cash prize, and a $500 grant to their classroom, school or school district. One of the weekly winners will be selected as the Educator of the Year and will receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Each winner also will be featured in a news segment on the Lottery’s media partner stations: WXYZ-TV in Detroit, FOX 17 in Grand Rapids, and FOX 47 in Lansing. The news segment featuring Cobb will air this evening in Grand Rapids and Lansing and then on Thursday in Detroit.
For the Excellence in Education awards program, the Lottery has teamed up with Michigan State University basketball coach Tom Izzo. Izzo met recently with Cobb at the Breslin Center and presented her with the award.
She said her favorite part of being a teacher is “being able to turn those reluctant readers into children who come into my classroom asking me for more of the type of book that I’ve managed to ‘hook’ them on.”
Cobb has been an educator for 24 years, the past seven with the Holt Public Schools district. She said she was attracted to a career in education because: “It’s where the children and the joy of learning are!”
Lynne Cobb talks with Michigan State University basketball coach, Tom Izzo, after accepting her Excellence in Education award.
Cobb said having the opportunity to make a difference in each child’s life motivates her to do her best each day.
“Whether it’s going to a student’s flag football game or attending a PTO-sponsored event, it pays off, because it allows me to build the relationships with the students which in turn allows me to teach them more effectively,” she said. “It’s through those relationships that I can hook them on the joy of reading and learning and encourage them to take risks.”
The parent of several former students nominated Cobb for the Excellence in Education award, saying she “more than teaches. She is personally invested and involved in as much as she can. She just loves these kids, and teachers like her are few and far between.”
“She is so dedicated that it’s not uncommon to find her in her classroom in the evening. She mails out post cards to all her students during her summer vacation at her own cost. You can find her wearing period costumes during field trips,” the nomination said. “Some kids think she is strict, but she is just so involved. She even sang a song when one of my boys brought his homework in since we were having trouble with him doing it.”
Cobb earned a bachelor of arts degree in Russian from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in literacy education from the University of Maine. She also holds a graduate certification in elementary education from Central Connecticut State University and national board certification as a middle childhood generalist.
Outstanding public school educators may be nominated for an Excellence in Education award at http://bit.ly/ExcellenceInEducation or through the websites of the Lottery’s media partner stations.
Excellence in Education award nominees are evaluated on the following criteria:
- Excellence – Their work consistently helps students and/or their schools or school districts advance to higher levels of academic achievement.
- Dedication – They consistently go above and beyond expectations to help students succeed.
- Inspiration – Their work inspires others around them to exceed expectations either academically or professionally.
- Leadership – They demonstrate clear leadership skills in their positions with their school or school districts
- Effectiveness – The nominee’s work has clear and positive results on the educational advancement of students within the school or school district.
