Michigan
Kentwood educator one of 10 Michigan Regional Teachers of the Year
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Kentwood elementary teacher Sarah Kresnak said she’s motivated every day by an opportunity to watch her first-grade students learn to read.
In her 20th year as an educator, she teaches at Discovery Elementary School, part of the Kentwood Public Schools district.
Kresnak has spent the entirety of her education career with Kentwood Public Schools, starting as a Michigan State University intern at the district’s Challenger Elementary. She’s taught full time with the district since 2005.
She said seeing her hard work pay off has been incredibly fulfilling. For the 2025-26 school year, Kresnak was selected as one of the state of Michigan’s 10 Regional Teachers of the Year.
But the biggest reward, she said, is getting to work with her students every day.
“I’m here every day because of them,” she said. “They make it the best job.”
The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) named Kresnak as one of 10 regional honorees in late February for the year 2025-26. She was named Teacher of the Year for Region 3, which includes an area of West Michigan that encompasses 13 counties, from Mason, Lake and Osceola counties in the north to Allegan and Barry counties in southwest Michigan.
Kresnak is a Kent County educator, one of 693 teachers in the Kentwood Public Schools district serving 9,639 students as of the 2025-26 school year.
This school district has the highest graduation rate in the Grand Rapids area
The 10 teachers were selected through a competitive application process that began with student, staff and community member nominations. They are finalists to be Michigan’s Teacher of the Year.
Together, they make up the Michigan Teacher Leadership Advisory Council, working with MDE to provide education policy input and taking back information to their regions.
“The Regional Teachers of the Year are selected from among Michigan’s many outstanding educators who play such an important role in student learning,” State Superintendent Michael Rice said in a statement. “Regional Teachers of the Year also elevate the voices of teachers by sharing their experiences and valuable insight with our department and the State Board of Education.”
Kresnak said the experience that brings her the most joy is teaching her first-graders how to read.
“They come in just starting to know how to read,” she said. “I feel incredibly fortunate that I get the opportunity to see all the lightbulbs pop on at different times.”
“The coolest part is that it breeds excitement. One child will get it, and there will be this domino effect of excitement for other friends as they understand it.”
The biggest challenge throughout this process is helping reluctant students find the motivation to learn to read, she said.
“We have a lot of mottos that I use to motivate kids who might take a little longer, like ‘everyone reads at different speeds’ or ‘fast doesn’t always mean great.’”
Kresnak said finding silly things to help students, like printing off pictures of celebrities and adding speech bubbles to their faces, is a fun part of her job that also makes a difference.
One of the biggest lessons she’s learned in teaching is to look at student behavior as communication. Really getting to know students is important to understand them and their needs.
Kentwood Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Polston said the district is proud of Kresnak’s accomplishment as Region 3 Teacher of the Year.
“This honor reflects the everyday excellence she exudes in her classroom by fostering meaningful relationships with students and families and delivering rigorous learning experiences to help our students achieve at the highest levels,” he said. “Additionally, her innate belief in the potential of our kids sets her apart.
“We couldn’t be more delighted for Sarah, Discovery Elementary School, and the entire Kentwood community as we celebrate this well-deserved recognition,” Polston added.
Kresnak said working at Kentwood is a unique and valuable experience because the district has such a diverse student population, and “it’s really incredible to see all of the diversity and the value that each family brings to our school and to our classroom community.”
Regional Teachers of the Year go on to interview with a panel of statewide education stakeholders before one person is selected for the 2025-26 Michigan Teacher of the Year.
The selected teacher has a non-voting seat on the state’s Board of Education, also representing the state across the country and becoming a candidate for National Teacher of the Year.
Kresnak said her goal with this larger platform is to shine a light on district achievements and try to involve the community more in elementary programming.
Other Regional Teachers of the Year include:
- Region 1: Susan Solomon, an elementary teacher at JKL Bahweting Anishnabe Public School Academy in Sault Ste. Marie.
- Region 2: Thomas Schultz, a science teacher at Charlevoix Middle/High School in Charlevoix Public Schools.
- Region 4: Heather Wolf, a social studies teacher at Shepherd High School in Shepherd Public Schools.
- Region 5: Corey Rosser, a social studies teacher at Quest High School in North Branch Area Schools.
- Region 6: Becky Manore, a Spanish teacher at Grand Ledge High School in Grand Ledge Public Schools.
- Region 7: Lindsey Cook, an elementary teacher at Sonoma Elementary School in Harper Creek Community Schools.
- Region 8: Deidra LaPointe, an elementary teacher at Luther C. Klager Elementary School in Manchester Community Schools.
- Region 9: Stephanie Jaskolski, an English language arts teacher at Woodhaven Upper Elementary in Woodhaven-Brownstown School District.
- Region 10: Susan Kelsey-Brewton, a science teacher at Hope Academy in Detroit.
If you would like more reporting like this delivered free to your inbox, signup for our weekly newsletter: Michigan Schools.
Michigan
Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing
One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week.
“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters.
“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”
That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.
On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.
Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore
Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.
“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’
Michigan
Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.
Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.
Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.
Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.
Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.
The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.
Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.
Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.
Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.
Up next
Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.
Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Michigan
Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After beginning a direct admittance program at one West Michigan high school in November, Aquinas College has now expanded the program to cover more classrooms.
The guaranteed admission program, first implemented for graduates of West Catholic High School with a 2.0 GPA or above, has now been expanded to Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids and Muskegon Catholic Central High School.
The partnership will apply to students from all three schools entering college in the fall of 2026.
The direct admission program was described by Aquinas College leaders as offering high school students a “clear path to college success” while also continuing to develop partnerships.
Aquinas College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution located at 1700 Fulton St. E, was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1886.
The college has enrolled 1,262 students during the 2025-26 academic year, and its new student numbers are up, with 419 new students on campus this fall, up from 311 in 2024-25.
The college’s overall enrollment total is just slightly under the approximately 1,300 students Aquinas recorded across its campus in 2023-24, according to a press release sent out in January 2025.
This year’s partnership announcements do not mark Aquinas’ first direct admittance deal.
The college also has a direct admit bachelor’s in nursing partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy, which allows students to take core curriculum courses at Aquinas and nursing classes from Detroit Mercy faculty.
On Nov. 14, Aquinas announced its direct admittance deal with West Catholic High School.
The school, located at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW, enrolled just over 500 students as of the 2024-25 school year, according to an online school profile.
West Catholic President and CEO Jill Wierzbicki said the initiative simplifies the college application process and offers students a straightforward path to higher education.
On Nov. 20, Aquinas then announced it had also partnered with Grand Rapids’ Catholic Central High School, 319 Sheldon Blvd SE, which enrolls 567 students and is the oldest co-educational diocesan Catholic high school in the nation.
Brian Matzke, vice president for enrollment management, said there’s “no doubt that Aquinas here has had more graduates from Catholic Central than any other school in our history.”
On Dec. 10, the college announced another partnership deal with Muskegon Catholic Central High School, 1145 W Laketon Ave., which enrolled just under 300 students in 2023-24, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Jerry McDowell, Muskegon Catholic Central president, said both the high school and Aquinas share a “deep commitment to developing the whole student — academically, spiritually, and individually.
“This direct-admit program provides our graduates with an exceptional opportunity to transition confidently into higher education while maintaining the Catholic values that guide their formation,” McDowell said.
Aquinas’ listed price for traditional undergraduate tuition is $41,192, according to senior director of strategic communications Dave DeJonge.
Students are eligible for annual merit scholarships between $15,000-$25,000, depending on their GPA and housing status. Additional scholarships may be available. This applies to all students who are admitted to Aquinas.
Matzke highlighted the direct admittance program’s easy transition from one West Michigan school to another, with those accepted to Aquinas able to live on campus or commute from home depending on what best fits their needs.
He also said a growing Grand Rapids job market, combined with support from the college’s career center, contributes to a 97% placement rate for graduates.
-
Alaska1 week agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Texas1 week agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
Washington5 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa1 week agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire
-
Miami, FL1 week agoUrban Meyer, Brady Quinn get in heated exchange during Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami CFP discussion
-
Cleveland, OH1 week agoMan shot, killed at downtown Cleveland nightclub: EMS
-
Iowa1 day agoHow much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
-
World7 days ago
Chiefs’ offensive line woes deepen as Wanya Morris exits with knee injury against Texans