Alumni Service Recognition Award

The impact of Heather Jensen’s ’00, ’92 volunteer efforts and professional service extends beyond the students in her fifth-grade classroom at Hillside Elementary School to impact the entire school, its families, and the local Harrison, Michigan community. While she loves teaching all subjects, literacy is her specialty, and spends time coordinating events for the entire school that promote family literacy in unique, creative, and innovative ways.

Outside the classroom, Heather is generous with her time and energy and has assumed many leadership roles at Hillside Elementary. As a member of the School Improvement Team, she helps identify areas of strength and weakness and designs creative interventions to solve problems to support the success of struggling students. She leads professional development and curriculum teams. In addition, she contributed time to assist school administrators in securing approximately $100,000 in professional development and technology grants for Hillside Elementary School. Andrea Andera, Principal at Hillside Elementary states, “Heather is an exceptional teacher, and her good-natured fortitude is vital for sustaining our productive climate.”

Heather's leadership can also be viewed in roles outside of Hillside Elementary School. She had a pioneering role in the Michigan Reading Association. In 1998 she became the first representative for Region 10, serving impoverished rural counties located north of Mount Pleasant. Since then, she has contributed to reading and literacy education across the state. As a member of the Clare/Gladwin Reading Association Heather has organized teacher book clubs, cultivating a network of members across Mid- and Upper Michigan.

For years, she served on the Great Lakes Great Books Award committee, which recognizes local literature and employs a unique process of using student votes to determine winners. Heather has also played a role as co-coordinator of the Michigan Reading Association’s (MRA) statewide Annual Conference and for the Summer Literature Conference. Her innovative contributions to the MRA have promoted literacy education in the state of Michigan. Heather has also been an avid participant in the Chippewa River Writing Project. http://chippewariverwp.org

A two-time graduate of Central Michigan University Heather earned a Masters in Reading and Literacy degree in 2000 and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1992. In 2006 Heather was the Elementary Teacher of the Year for Harrison, Michigan Schools.?