A Leelanau County educator known for ensuring her students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally has been honored with an Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, Samantha TwoCrow, is director of the Indigenous Education Program for Suttons Bay 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 TwoCrow will air this evening.

TwoCrow says the opportunity to break the cycle of academic struggles drew her to a career in education.

“I’ve worked in grant positions with my local tribe teaching beading and sewing regalias for powwows, and I wanted to make a stronger impact for our youth. When stepping into my role as Indigenous Education Director, I was able to make that happen seeing my students five days-a-week. I strived to look for innovative ways to teach culturally diverse subjects, but also include our Anishinaabe teachings. As a teenager and young adult, I was given the opportunity to have been put on a path where my mentors gave me the knowledge of the Anishinaabe people but the importance of getting an education to break generations cycles in academics. My drive to keep going has always been the thought of keeping our students in education and teaching them the knowledge they need to succeed by being strong indigenous learners in today’s society.”

Building pride and school spirit is something TwoCrow has enjoyed with her students.

“Bringing school spirit back into our district has been my favorite activity with my students from Suttons Bay. We build relationships with our peers and encourage community engagement all while having fun! We make locker magnets, bring senior appreciation, find cheers for our student sections in sports, and more. Having a positive attitude and mindset helps our students increase their joy at school. Without having joy, we sometimes lose sight of the end goal in academic achievement.”

TwoCrow was nominated for the award by a colleague.

“Samantha TwoCrow has been with Suttons Bay Public Schools since 2019, serving as our Indigenous Education Director. We are fortunate to serve a very diverse student population, including significant numbers of Native American and Native Alaskan students from preschool through 12th grade. As the director of the Indigenous Education Program, Samantha is tasked with ensuring that our Indigenous students receive the support they need to not only succeed academically, but socially and emotionally as well. Samantha has worked very hard to expand the reach and resources of our Indigenous Education Program and this growth has had a tremendous impact on our students and district as a whole.   As part of this effort, Samantha directs our Indigenous Education Program Parent Committee that meets monthly to discuss ways to improve culturally-responsive academic support and mentoring services to students, plus increase cultural identity and awareness within the district and throughout the community. Samantha is always looking for opportunities for our Indigenous students to share their cultural heritage with others and she also provides professional development opportunities for our staff each year. Samantha spearheads activities and events surrounding the celebration of Indigenous People’s Day in October and Native American Heritage Month in November where students can share food, clothing, dance, music, and other culturally important traditions. Samantha also plays a key role in organizing and presenting the Graduation Powwow held every spring.”

TwoCrow is currently pursuing degrees from Bay Mills Community College and Northwestern Michigan College for Fine Arts. She has worked in education for 18 years, the last four in her current position.

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.