SPARTA, Mich. — 13 ON YOUR SIDE is highlighting another outstanding educator. This newest Teacher of the Week works at Sparta High School and staff and students there were determined to make this surprise a special one.
The school used the marching band to get Allyson Nyhof out of the classroom.
After the surprise, she said, “Our first thought was weird place for band practice. They’ve never practiced right outside the Spanish department before.”
The band played the school’s fight song before Nyhof eventually made her way into the hallway.
“I don’t think I believed it at first. I was like what? Why is the band playing for me? Why are there cameras out here?" she said. "I think it took a minute for it to really sink in, but this is really exciting.”
The assistant principal, Matt Landry, was also pretty excited.
“I’m a crier,” he said. “So, I right away was like this is the absolute perfect person for this.”
Even more so, he said, because the honor is going to Nyhof.
“I used to teach right next door to her and she’s amazing. I’ve seen her reach so many students,” said Landry.
Nyhof told 13 ON YOUR SIDE, “I have so many teachers from high school that I still think about and just knowing that I could be that person for even one kid. That means so much.”
She’s from Holland and said, “I knew I wanted to be a teacher after my first day of first grade. I went home to my mom. I said, ‘I’m going to be a teacher someday.’ Like any mom, she’s like, ‘okay, sure. You also said you want to be a princess and a ballerina. Like, we’ll see what happens.’”
She teaches Spanish at Sparta High School.
“Going into high school, I really loved my Spanish teachers, my Spanish classes. I fell in love with the Spanish language and culture, and I decided that Spanish education was the route I wanted to take,” said Nyhof.
Landry said, “AP Spanish is now something that she created, and we have quite a few students taking it. We have quite a few students that are going on and deciding I want to be an interpreter. I want to do something where I’m going to be using a second language.”
“I just try to show students how Spanish is very applicable in the real world, being able to communicate with more people. I’m also teaching an AP Spanish class this year. So, they have the opportunity to earn college credits as well,” said Nyhof.
“When you walk into her classroom, you’re going to see her doing things differently than a traditional teacher,” said the assistant principal. “She’s taken kids on trips. They’ve gone overseas. So, she’s done those types of things as well, and so, whether it’s the little things she’s doing in the classroom or whether she’s taking kids across the world, she does all of it and everything in between.”
He also said all teachers deserve recognition.
“Our teachers need as much validation of what they do as they can possibly get. So, anytime you can take a moment to say to them, ‘hey, thank you for everything that you do,’ it makes a big difference.”
Nyhof said the honor “makes me feel very emotional. I mean, we go in every single day. We’re here to do our job and make relationships with students but being recognized it really means a lot.”
If you have someone you’d like to nominate as our next Teacher of the Week, just text the word “teacher” to 616-559-1310.
