Christy Trombetta, a senior math instructor in Grand Ile, Michigan, has been named a 2021 Michigan Virtual Online Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Michigan Virtual.

Educator Christy Trombetta of Gross Ile, Michigan, has been named a 2021 Michigan Virtual Online Teacher of the Year. Each year since 2009, Michigan Virtual has recognized outstanding online educators through this award. Those educators who earn the award have been selected for their positive impact on students, their continuous improvement of practice, and their vision for the future of online education. 

Christy has been a senior math instructor with Michigan Virtual since 2018. She has been praised for her ability to help her students master concepts by working with them on their unique challenges. For this award, Christy received numerous nomination letters. One of her students wrote, “Once I reached out to Mrs. Trombetta I started getting better scores while genuinely understanding the content. Right now I’m ahead of where I thought I would be thanks to her patience, teaching methods, and dedication.” 

In a letter from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Christy was praised for her dedication and contribution to student success. “Over the past year, you have shown exceptional commitment to your students and outstanding devotion to building a strong educational foundation in Michigan,” the governor wrote in her letter. “This past year has been a difficult one, however, through your determination, insight, and leadership, you have persevered and instilled the joy of learning in countless students and led them to grow into strong, resilient individuals,” Governor Whitmer continued. 

Christy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Western Michigan University. She earned her Master’s degree in Mathematics at Eastern Michigan University. In addition, she completed graduate courses at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. Before working at Michigan Virtual, she held teaching positions with the Covenant House Academy Southwest, Westwood Community Schools, and Taylor Public Schools, all in Michigan.

Sadly, we report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Math teacher Amanda Nutt of Horse Cave, Kentucky, succumbed to the disease on Sept. 15, 2021. Photo credit: Winn Funeral Home.

Sadly, we must report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of another beloved educator. Amanda Nutt, a math teacher in Cave, Kentucky, succumbed to the disease on Sept. 15, 2021. She was just 36 years old.

Amanda taught at Caverna High School in the Caverna Independent School District in Horse Cave. She taught in the district for six years. Teaching was a lifelong passion for the fallen educator. “I wanted to be the teacher that I needed when I was younger,” Amanda once said. “And I strive to be the teacher that incorporates fun and active learning in the classroom.”

For her work in the classroom, Amanda earned many accolades. She was named Hart County Teacher of the Year in 2020, and she earned a B.H. Weaver Outstanding Educator of the Year the same year. She also garnered an Excellence in Teaching Award from Campbellsville University in 2019. In addition, she was also nominated for the 2020 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Award and the Western Kentucky University Distinguished Educator Award.

Amanda’s passion for the field of education was very evident. She was selected to be a GoTeachKy ambassador. Through that organization, she helped the Kentucky Department of Education recruit new educators to the profession in an attempt to address a critical teacher shortage currently affecting the state.

When she was not teaching, Amanda was an avid music fan who spent time working with bands and photographing concerts.

The Chalkboard Champion earned her degree at Western Kentucky University. At the time of her passing, she was pursuing her Ph.D. degree in Educational Leadership from the same institution and was on track to graduate this year.

Math teacher Josephine Gomon of Detroit, Michigan, was described as one of the most influential women in the city’s history. Photo credit: Bentley Historical Society.

Many talented classroom educators become involved in social causes that improve living conditions for everyone in their communities. One is Josephine Gomon, a mathematics teacher from Detroit, Michigan, who was described as one of the most influential women in the city’s history.

Josephine was born on June 29, 1892, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As a young woman, she attended the University of Michigan, working her way through college as a switch board operator. In 1913, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, an unusual field for a woman of her day.

Josephine inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a teacher of physics and mathematics at Wayne State University, then known as the College of the City of Detroit. Later, after getting married and having five children, Josephine taught in Detroit city public schools. During those years, she also wrote a regular column about education which was published in The Detroit News.

After two of her close friends died in childbirth, Josephine became actively involved in Detroit’s underground birth control clinics. Later she helped to establish the National Planned Parenthood League, and she became the president of the Detroit Chapter. Josephine was passionate about the welfare of the poor and underprivileged in Detroit, and this passion led to her involvement in politics and to her position as Executive Secretary to Mayor Frank Murphy.

The indefatigable teacher was an activist serving the cause of social justice within the community in many ways. She was a founding member of the ACLU in Michigan, and she worked closely with Clarence Darrow on several Detroit-based civil liberties cases. Later she became an advisor to Franklin Roosevelt. In 1933 Josephine was appointed Secretary Director of the Detroit Housing Commission, where she supervised construction of Detroit’s first public housing projects. During World War II she was named by Henry Ford as the Director of Women Personnel at the Willow Run Bomber Plant. Her success in this position led to her becoming an influencer in organized labor in the area.

Josephine passed away on November 13, 1975, at the age of 83. After her passing, the Detroit Free Press described her as “one of the most influential women in the city’s history.” She was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 1983.

With great sadness we report the passing of Elisa Creacy, a math teacher from Corpus Christi, Texas, who succumbed to Covid -19 on July 30, 2021. Photo credit: Sawyer George Funeral Home, Inc.

With great sadness we report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Elisa Creacy, a high school math teacher from Texas, succumbed to the disease on July 30, 2021. She was just 35 years old.

Elisa was a teacher at Robstown Early Collegiate High School located in Corpus Christ, Texas. Her career there spanned 14 years. “She had a great impact on her students lives, her family, friends,” remembered her father-in-law Mike Creacy. “She was just a wonderful person. To me, she wasn’t my daughter-in-law. She was my second daughter,” he continued. At the high school where Elisa taught, colleagues and students are showing their respect for the beloved educator by planting a tree and holding an assembly in her honor.

Elisa passed away just three weeks after giving birth to her first child, a son she named Elijah, who was born on July 14. Her passing devastates her family, who was already overcoming many challenges. Her husband is disabled, having suffered severe combat injuries while serving in the US military. Elisa’s father is a chaplain for the Corpus Christi Police Department, and her mother is recovering from an organ transplant.

Elisa was born on February 25, 1986, in Huntington Beach, California. She is a graduate of Charleston Southern University in South Carolina. To read more about her, see this obituary published by Sawyer George Funeral Home, Inc.