EDUCATION

Here's the top Michigan charter school teacher, administrator

Lori Higgins
Detroit Free Press

A Detroit principal and a Hartland teacher have won the top awards for charter school educators in Michigan.

The Michigan Association of Public School Academies, a charter school advocacy group, made the announcement Monday to coincide with the start of National Charter Schools Week.

Chanavia Patterson, principal at Detroit Enterprise Academy, was named 2017 Michigan Charter School Administrator of the Year.

The administrator of the year award goes to Chanavia Patterson, principal at Detroit Enterprise Academy. The teacher of the year award goes to Gordy Hyska, a first- and second-grade teacher at Charyl Stockwell Academy in Hartland.

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Patterson took over as principal at Detroit Enterprise four years ago, when it was ranked poorly academically. Since then, the school's academic achievement has improved in many areas and its ranking has improved, too.

"Chanavia Patterson is working miracles at Detroit Enterprise Academy," Dan Quisenberry, president of the state association, said in a news release.

Hyska, meanwhile, is known for bringing lessons to life for students. He turns math into an adventure, becoming an action hero he calls Michigan Hyska, his version of Indiana Jones, according to the release. As part of those lessons, students solve math problems while searching for treasure.

Hyska "perfectly embodies the charter ideal — that when teachers are empowered and allowed to be creative and innovative, they can change lives," Quisenberry said.

Gordy Hyska, a teacher at Charyl Stockwell Academy in Hartland, was named 2017 Michigan Charter School Teacher of the Year

Contact Lori Higgins: 313-222-6651 or  lhiggins@freepress.com