Lottery Commissioner, Suzanna Shkreli (left), presenting Vikki Blanchard-Connett (right) with her Excellence in Education check

A Roscommon County educator who goes the extra mile to ensure her students feel loved and valued has been honored with an Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, Vikki Blanchard-Connett, is a Health and Physical Education teacher at Collins Elementary. The school is part of Houghton Lake Community 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 Blanchard-Connett will air this evening.

“Health and Physical Education are extremely important topics, especially for our young people,” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “Ms. Blanchard-Connett is teaching kids from a young age the importance of taking care of their body and living a healthy lifestyle, which will impact them for years to come, while also spreading positivity and making sure each and every one of her students feels valued every day. She is the perfect example of what it means to be an excellent educator.”

Blanchard-Connett wanted to be an educator since she was a child because of her desire to touch the lives of students.

“I knew that I wanted to be an educator ever since I was a young child in school. I had a very influential health and PE teacher who motivated me to be the best person and athlete that I could be. I knew from then on, I wanted to touch the lives of students through exercise and teaching them how to take care of their bodies.”

Blanchard-Connett was nominated for the award by a student and her mother.

“I love Miss Blanchard! She is really nice and teaches me a lot. She teaches us how to exercise, and how to be safe. She cares about our safety and health and gives us hugs to make us feel better.

“Ms. Blanchard has taught my daughter the value of being a kind human being while caring for herself and others. She goes the extra mile to ensure that her children feel loved and valued each and every day. Ms. Blanchard has taken time out of her personal life to write notes to parents to tell them the “good” that she has witnessed their child doing for others. She truly is making the world a better place through educating hundreds of children, all with a huge smile on her face.”

Blanchard-Connett earned a bachelor’s degrees from Saginaw Valley State University and a master’s degree from Marygrove College. She has been an educator for 26 years, the last 24 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.