GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A first for the 13 ON YOUR SIDE Teacher of the Week: One West Michigan educator is teaching students a valuable skill that isn’t offered in every district.
Students at Forest Hills Central High School gathered in the media center to surprise Kimberly Anderson.
“I was very touched and so surprised because I had no idea,” she said. “When you teach, there’s just a lot of love and a lot of emotion but I have never seen it all in one spot.”
Principal Jonathan Haga told 13 ON YOUR SIDE, “You know, when I saw it was Ms. Anderson’s name, I was thrilled to be able to really set up an experience for her which – she was a little blindsided – but that she’s going to remember for a long time.”
Anderson was hired in 2013 to start the American Sign Language (ASL) program at Forest Hills Central High.
“There’s no high school curriculum for ASL, really, out there. So, yes, everything you see was masterminded by me,” said Anderson.
She’s been in the same classroom ever since and explained, “We talk about how beneficial sign language is and how it can be used anytime with anybody.”
“She brings about that passion. She allows to really explore and grow as human beings but also learn critical content that’s going to support themselves and others in the future,” said Haga.
Anderson told our news crew, “I wanted to shout it from the rooftops, like, look how good I’m doing. Look how good they are, and they often don’t recognize it.”
The district adding ASL as another option now that high schoolers need a foreign language to graduate.
“Having a world language opportunity such as American Sign Language allows our students to cultivate a passion to help others,” said Haga.
Anderson invites parents to see this work.
“I am open. If any parent wants to come to my room, come see what I do and I’m sure other teachers would agree that what they do is meaningful and it’s so beneficial and not everyone can do,” she said. “People think it’s easy and it’s not. It requires a lot of work.”
No matter the subject, all of our teachers work hard.
“They’re on the front lines. They’re the ones really inspiring, engaging and energizing our kids to engage in the work in front of them. To create positive human beings that are going to make today’s world a little better tomorrow,” said Haga.
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.