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| Jeremy Mills talks with a student about a reading assignment in class |
By WILL KANGAS
January 8, 2011
MASON -- Jeremy Mills wanted to be a mechanical engineer, but changed his mind and became an English teacher.
Luckily for the students at the Summit campus of Mason High School, he came to work for them.
Mills was named the 2012 Excellence in Education award winner from the Mason Area Chamber of Commerce.
He will be honored along with others at a Feb. 8 dinner and ceremony at the El Dorado Golf Course banquet center.
"Mechanical engineering just wasn't for me," Mills said.
A Flint native and Michigan State University graduate, Mills said he is more comfortable teaching students and has been teaching at Summit for 10 years.
"An important part of it is connectivity," Mills said. "It's important to share in the process, so that students don't feel like they are being talked down to."
Mills said he also makes an effort to make learning fun.
"A lot of teachers think their curriculum is fun standing on its own," he said. "I think by adding some fun you can still accomplish what you need to do."
Program grows
The Summit campus has grown since Mills started, from an old building on Kerns Road with a handful of kids to the campus at the former Cedar Street Elementary.
Program Coordinator Matthew Stuard started the same time as Mills. He said he is proud of what the program has turned into.
"Jeremy is a great person, and one of the reasons for our success," Stuard said.
Summit has grown to 77 students and offers a mixture of classes with teachers and online learning.
Stuard said while other alternative education programs are being cut, Summit has survived.
"It's because of its classification of a program within Mason High School and not a separate school," Stuard said.
He said that designation allows students to participate in high school activities, including graduation instead of isolating them.
Mills said he typically has 20 students in his class which allows him to make real connections with eachstudent and make adjustments where necessary.
Stuard said Mills is not shy about doing whatever it takes to teach his students.
"For example he has students act out scenes in Shakespeare," Stuard said.
This way the students have fun while learning Shakespeare at the same time.
For Mills, we wouldn't have it any other way.
"This is for me," he said. "I like helping students learn in a way that relates to them."
The Summit campus has grown since Mills started, from an old building on Kerns Road with a handful of kids to the campus at the former Cedar Street Elementary.
Program Coordinator Matthew Stuard started the same time as Mills. He said he is proud of what the program has turned into.
"Jeremy is a great person, and one of the reasons for our success," Stuard said.
Summit has grown to 77 students and offers a mixture of classes with teachers and online learning.
Stuard said while other alternative education programs are being cut, Summit has survived.
"It's because of its classification of a program within Mason High School and not a separate school," Stuard said.
He said that designation allows students to participate in high school activities, including graduation instead of isolating them.
Mills said he typically has 20 students in his class which allows him to make real connections with eachstudent and make adjustments where necessary.
Stuard said Mills is not shy about doing whatever it takes to teach his students.
"For example he has students act out scenes in Shakespeare," Stuard said.
This way the students have fun while learning Shakespeare at the same time.
For Mills, we wouldn't have it any other way.
"This is for me," he said. "I like helping students learn in a way that relates to them."
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