Troy High School Art, Biology Teachers Recognized by Board of Education

Troy visual arts teacher Heather Kelly was acknowledged at the Tuesday night for competing in the 2011 Grand Rapids ArtPrize competition and having her work chosen for exhibit at ArtPrize.

Kelly, who teaches at , was one of several individuals recognized at the meeting for recent accomplishments.

Kelly, who lives in Bloomfield Township, entered her mixed media piece  “Wish” in the huge art competition in Grand Rapids. The piece is a portrayal of motherhood, combining both text and image with digital photography and metallic powders. Before a winner was selected, Kelly had made it clear that a portion of her winnings would be going to the Make a Wish Foundation if she won. If she didn’t, she noted when the piece eventually sells, a portion will still go to the nonprofit.

Another Troy High School faculty member, biology teacher , was recognized at the meeting for winning first place in the 2011 ING Financial’s Unsung Heroes award program. Brewer received the honor for her Mini-Med School: Simulating Surgeries program. For winning the national competition she was awarded $27,000.

A spotlight was on the elementary schools at the meeting as well for obtaining a Bronze status in the HealthierUS School Challenge. At the meeting it was noted that Troy and Birmingham school districts were the only ones in Michigan with every elementary school in their districts meeting the challenge standards.

Criteria includes:

• Only offering low-fat or fat-free milk
• Calories from total fat in food must be at or below 35 percent per serving
• Adequate nutrition education and physical activity must be provided at the schools
• Other specified standards

Each of the 12 elementary schools received a plaque, banner and $500 for this accomplishment.

Robert Stromayer, director of Troy Continuing Education, was unable to attend the meeting, but Superintendent Barbara Fowler did note that he was retiring after 23 years of service. “He served the staff and school community very, very well,” Fowler said.

Curriculum and test reports

This year the Troy School District rolled out 660 iPads, and hope to obtain many more in the future. Merri Lynn Colligan, Director of Technology, gave a presentation at Tuesday’s meeting noting just how valuable the iPads are in the schools. She gave a thorough report on training that has taken place for staff members, and specific usage of apps. Thus far iPads have been passed out to the elementary schools and the secondary buildings will have a taste of the technology later this fall.

“I can’t say enough about how thrilled I am that the teachers here have taken the time to investigate the apps,” Colligan said, noting that the teachers have located appropriate apps that meld nicely with their curriculum. 

In addition to the curriculum report, a brief presentation on future Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) and Michigan Merit Exam (MME) requirements was given at the meeting. Though much of the presentation dealt with preparing for future test taking, it was noted that the Michigan Department of Education recently changed their requirement for cut scores. Now instead of being able to pass with 39 percent of the questions on the MEAP correct, 65 percent of the questions will need to be answered correctly.