Greta McHaney-Trice
Greta McHaney-Trice, a teacher at Forest View Elementary School in the Lansing School District, has received the prestigious Outstanding Alumni K-12 Teacher Award from the Michigan State University College of Education Alumni Association.
She will be honored for exemplary efforts to help all students achieve their potential during an Awards Reception on April 9, 2010 at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. She was nominated by Sally McClintock, a fellow member of the group LATTICE (Linking All Types of Teachers to International Cross-cultural Education).
A 1998 graduate of the MSU teacher preparation program, McHaney-Trice has evolved from an enthusiastic teacher intern into a model educator who, as one nominator noted, “teaches wherever she goes.” Second-graders at Forest View are now the primary beneficiaries of her powerful classroom methods, which rely on students’ questions and interests as a road map and grow out of a concern for engaging all learners. She also fostered parent involvement and high academic performance at Averill Elementary School during the first nine years of her career, starting in 1999.
McHaney-Trice, who received a master’s degree in curriculum and teaching from MSU in 2004, has opened her heart and classroom to create learning experiences for many others along the way. Faculty members in the MSU College of Education gladly send prospective teachers to observe her in action for the field component of their courses. McHaney-Trice has inspired teacher candidates to acquire higher standards and ambitions. She also seeks out professional development opportunities through research, and recently collaborated on a poetry teaching project with MSU professor Janine Certo.
McHaney-Trice’s commitment to diversity and social justice is evident through her work as planning co-chair for the North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation, a national panel focused on improving education for children from poor, minority and immigrant families. She also embraces diverse perspectives as a leader of LATTICE and has welcomed international scholars into her classroom.
The Outstanding Alumni K-12 Teacher Award is presented annually to MSU College of Education alumni currently teaching in any school system who demonstrate evidence of service and achievement above and beyond what is expected.