University of Michigan-Flint’s Education Department offers innovative networking and development opportunities designed to support new educators in the field. Each semester, the department hosts the Future Teachers Academy, featuring a special keynote speaker and several breakout sessions led by Michigan teachers and local school administrators.
The April 2025 Future Teachers Academy featured former middle school teacher and bestselling author Matt Eicheldinger, who shared stories from his book, Sticky Notes, with all attendees.
“It’s rare for me to be invited to talk to college students; most of my visits are for corporations and I speak about the importance of small moments, or I do author visits for my children’s books, but these college events are the most enjoyable because I like seeing the future that’s coming into education,” said Eicheldinger.
One of the breakout sessions from which the education students could select was entitled “Every Learner Matters: Empowering At-Risk Students Across Grade Levels,” led by Kelley Cusmano, the 2024-25 Michigan Teacher of the Year.
“I love talking to people who are about to enter the education field. When you look at the national narrative, there’s a lot of just perception about, ‘Oh, it’s so hard, you don’t wanna do it, you don’t get paid enough,’ but it’s really not about that. So any time I can get in front of people and talk about the fact that I love my job, I feel like I’m winning.” Cusmano said. “What struck me about UM-Flint’s Education Department is that you have a lot of professors who have spent years teaching K-12, so they’re not just education researchers. This program has a unique blend of practical experience and innovative research, and I think that’s a great combination for training new teachers.”
Another breakout session leader, Katie Bancroft of the Sloan Museum of Discovery, echoed Cusmano’s sentiments about UM-Flint’s Education Department. “We’ve had a few of their students intern that we’ve now hired as employees and are a part of Sloan’s education team,” she said. “We’re also working together to bring classes to the museum, so they can find out what they can do as a teacher, explore the resources we have available, and learn about bringing their future classes to the Sloan Museum for hands-on learning. Our workshop today is called ‘Bringing History Alive,’ and we’re sharing different ways we have made this sometimes abstract subject more accessible to children. We want them to know that we are here to support them, and to support Flint’s kids.”
Molly Dunham, 2024-25 Region 2 Teacher of the Year, who led a session on student engagement, was impressed by the students. “They asked great questions, and I was pleasantly surprised by how professional they were and how they are focused on all of the right things,” she said. “I love the energy of new teachers the most. One of my other roles is as a new teacher mentor at my school. The energy of people who are just entering the profession or considering a career in teaching is truly inspiring.”
The Winter 2025 Academy was the second for UM-Flint Education grad student and 2024-25 Region 5 Teacher of the Year, Sasha Wakefield. “I was the keynote speaker at the academy last year, which was terrific, because I love to share my enthusiasm for teaching,” she said. “People often ask me how I never get burnt out, and I don’t know what to say except that, for me, teaching is my dream job. It energizes me, and I told the students that if they find something that they’re passionate about, in a way that it’s just natural, that it’s just like they’re breathing, then they won’t ever get burnt out. I’m 20 years in and haven’t had a moment where I wished I had a different job. It’s important to me to share that with these future teachers, and to offer them guidance on how they can be the best in their classrooms.”
In her session, “Relationship Building: The Heartbeat of Learning,” 2024-25 Region 8 Teacher of the Year Kristina Dennis provided insights on how to create enriching and meaningful experiences for both students and teachers.
“It’s been fun to feel like I can share some of the experiences and knowledge that I have, which can make a difference for the students. If I can inspire future teachers to understand some of the things they’re going to experience, prepare them beforehand so that they can handle them well, that is exciting to me,” Dennis said. “I am a big proponent of building relationships and how they can make a huge difference in learning, behavior management, and the classroom environment — I know how successful one can be in helping students learn by building those relationships early. If I hadn’t taken the time to develop those relationships, I don’t feel like I would have had as much of an impact on my students, so sharing those techniques with future educators is very important to me.”
Throughout the day, UM-Flint’s education students developed new skills, networked with their peers and their future colleagues, and gained valuable new insights into the professional road ahead.
“I think my biggest piece of advice is that since you are working with families, you’re essentially taking care of people’s most precious cargo; learning how to partner with parents is key,” Eicheldinger said. “Early on, I thought I had to teach parents, too, to get them on board with what I thought they’re child should be doing, but I came to realize that it’s about connecting with each family’s parenting styles, and navigating opportunities for their children together. You’re kind of co-parents in a way, all of you looking out for the child’s best interests. And I think that’s how the best results come about.”
