Lisa Boulding (center) poses for a photo with former student and FCCLA, Audrey Koutney, after accepting her Excellence in Education award from Michigan State University basketball coach Tom Izzo.
A Kalamazoo County educator known for establishing a student leadership and community service program and guiding its growth to more than 100 members in five years has been honored with an Excellence in Education award from the Michigan Lottery.
The award winner, Lisa Boulding, teaches Family and Consumer Science courses at Kalamazoo Central High School, which is part of the Kalamazoo Public Schools district. Ms. Boulding launched a chapter of
Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) and serves as the chapter’s adviser. FCCLA is national student organization that helps teens become leaders and address important personal, family, work and societal issues with the help of family and consumer science education.
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 Boulding 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. He met recently with Ms. Boulding at the Breslin Center and presented her with the award.
Ms. Boulding said one of her favorite parts of being an educator is “seeing the ‘spark’ in students during the learning process and witnessing the growth of each student.”
She said was attracted to a career in education by the opportunity to work with children and is motivated to do her best each day because “I know that it only takes one person to make a difference in a life.”
Ms. Boulding was nominated for the Excellence in Education award by a student, who described her as “putting in countless hours to help us develop a dynamic and effective leadership program.”
“She does this because she truly loves working with us and helping us discover our leadership abilities,” the nomination said, adding that Boulding helps students plan and implement community service projects and projects for state and national leadership conferences.
“She believes every student has the potential to be a leader and really believes our district motto, which is ‘every child, every opportunity, every time.’ She helps us understand that leadership is not a gene or an inheritance, it is a recognizable set of skills and abilities that are available to all of us!”
Lisa Boulding talks with Michigan State University basketball coach, Tom Izzo, after accepting her Excellence in Education award.
Eight members of the Kalamazoo Central High School chapter of FCCLA recently qualified at the State FCCLA Leadership Conference in Midland to represent Michigan FCCLA at the National Leadership Conference this July in San Diego, Ms. Boulding said.
She added that the Kalamazoo Central chapter is the largest FCCLA chapter in Michigan and two of its members sit on the State Executive Council of FCCLA. One serves as the State President and the other as the Vice President of Competitive Events.
The chapter’s members participated in more than 100 hours of community service this school year, she said.
Ms. Boulding has been an educator for 10 years, all in her current position at the Kalamazoo Central High School. She earned an associate’s degree from Kalamazoo Valley Community College and a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Western Michigan University.
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.
