A Saginaw County educator known for building connections with students has been honored with an Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, Kasydra Goode-Tibbs, is the principal of Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw. The school is part of the Saginaw Public Schools.

The Michigan Lottery established the Excellence In Education awards in 2014 to recognize outstanding public-school educators across the state during the school year.

Winners of the weekly award receive a $2,000 cash prize. At the end of the school year, one of the weekly award winners will be selected to receive the Lottery’s Educator of the Year award and will receive a $10,000 cash prize.

Each winner also is featured in a news segment on the Lottery’s media partner stations: WXYZ-TV in Detroit, FOX 17 in Grand Rapids, FOX 47 in Lansing, WNEM-TV in Saginaw, and WWTV-TV in Traverse City. The news segment featuring Goode-Tibbs will air this evening.

Goode-Tibbs says getting to know the students in her building is one of the most rewarding things about her job.

“Being an educator has many challenges, but it is very rewarding and valuable work. One of my favorite things to do as the principal at Arthur Hill is observing and visiting classes to engage with students in their element. Having those discussions and taking a genuine interest in students helps me get to know them and their interests and goals.”

Goode-Tibbs was nominated for the award by a student.

“When I first started out in high school, I was a very shy and quiet person. Not only was it my first year as a high school student, but it was also Ms. Tibbs first year as principle at Arthur Hill High School. In that first year, I learned a lot from her. She helped me come out of my shell and more importantly she helped me get over my anxiety. Her impact was not just felt by me. At Arthur Hill High School, when you take a health class you get a major baby project where you take a robot baby home over the weekend. With this project there comes a fee of about $5. Out of the goodness of her heart, she paid the fee for every single student taking one home. It doesn’t stop there. Any student can email her and set up a time to sit down and talk with her. She also is very kind to her staff. Every holiday season she goes out of her way to buy all the staff, from the teachers to the custodians, a gift bag full of gift cards and candy. She really makes a big difference at Arthur Hill.”

Goode-Tibbs earned a bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University and a master’s degree from Saginaw Valley State University. She has been an educator for 29 years, the last three as principal at Arthur Hill High School.

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.