Lottery Commissioner, Suzanna Shkreli, presents Sean Sabo with his Excellence in Education check.

A Washtenaw County educator who is known for developing students’ writing and critical thinking skills has been honored with an Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, Sean Sabo, is an advanced placement English and acting teacher at Pioneer High School. The school is part of Ann Arbor 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, WLUC in Marquette, WNEM-TV in Saginaw, and WWTV-TV in Traverse City. The news segment featuring Sabo will air this evening.

“Mr. Sabo’s dedication as an educator for nearly 30 years is invaluable to Pioneer High School,” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “His ability to bring literature to life and teach acting by transforming real stories and experiences into productions has made him a beloved teacher.”

Sabo said his love of reading and writing attracted him to a career in education.

“I’ve always loved stories whether books, plays, or movies; I’ve also always loved engaging people in discussions of ‘big’ topics, which I would do regularly as a teen and young adult. I started out wanting to be a professor but stopped at a master’s degree when I discovered how focused the field was on theory rather than teaching. I got certified to teach with the hope of sharing my love for books and writing with students.”

Sabo was nominated for the award by the parent of a student.

“Sean Sabo has been an incredibly successful teacher for more than two decades, focusing on developing students writing and critical thinking skills. He built his classes around books, speeches, poems, and essays that he chose himself, making sure to expose students to a wide range of voices and styles. Sean’s students, including my son, particularly appreciated the extensive feedback that he provided to them. Last year, he graded 13 essays per student and wrote a paragraph of comments on each one. With ninety students, that required hundreds of hours of work outside of class, all aimed at helping his students become better writers. In addition, every quarter he asked students to present original work to the class orally; again, he provided each student with a full paragraph of notes on each presentation. Sean Sabo doesn’t let his students off easy. He expects them to do steady, difficult work and to meet a high standard. Most importantly, he motivates his students to meet that standard by showing them, through his extensive feedback on their work, that he cares about their progress and success. He often encouraged students to share their work outside the classroom and enter it into competitions. The results of his effort and encouragement show in stronger writing, numerous awards in competitions, and high AP scores.”

Sabo earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University, a master’s degree from Indiana University, and a teacher certification from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been an educator for 29 years, the last 22 in his 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.