By: Andy Kozlowski | Madison-Park News | Published March 30, 2023
MADISON HEIGHTS — For as long as she can remember, Sarah Laurence wanted to teach.
The second grade teacher at Simonds Elementary, in the Lamphere Schools, was recently named Oakland County’s Elementary School Teacher of the Year. A graduate of Lamphere herself, she has been teaching in the district for more than 20 years and hails from a family of educators, including her mother, aunt, uncle and cousin.
“So, there’s a lot of dinner table talk centered around education, on both sides of my family — it’s always been at the forefront, instilled in me how important it is,” Laurence said. “I think that came into play with me wanting to be a teacher. I also had really great elementary school teachers, and I just loved school in general — those years were honestly some of the best of my life.”
She was surprised by the good news of her award on March 22, when a group of officials from the Lamphere Schools and Oakland Schools districts knocked at her classroom door.
“We were connecting our math learning to the pyramids of Egypt, making outside connections. I was at the front of the room when all these people walked in, and I was just floored,” Laurence said.
Laurence teared up when she saw close family and friends among the visitors, including her parents, Mary and Dan Eidson; her daughter, Emma; and her colleague and best friend, Jen Vivian, a third grade teacher she first met at Simonds Elementary. Vivian also brought her son, Noah, and her mother, Kathleen Cupp.
“She’s my ride-or-die at this point, the go-to person,” Laurence said of Vivian. “Honestly, I have developed so many relationships with my colleagues here. I believe they’re all deserving of recognition here. It’s so important to have colleagues that support you and try to be on the same page as you. I think the teamwork within the building has been a very integral piece of our success.”
Vivian said she and Laurence first bonded over their love of kids, but also over their passion for social studies, weaving those elements into lessons on other topics like reading, writing and math. She said Laurence has a natural gift for connecting with people of all ages.
“Sarah is very calm, she’s very patient, she is an amazing listener, and I think she works really hard to try to teach through the moment, whether she’s working with a child or even a new teacher who she’s mentoring,” Vivian said. “When you’re around her, there’s this sense of calm where you feel safe — you feel like you can go to her, and you know she’s trustworthy. She can talk through things with you, and help you realize you can solve your problems. She will take care of your heart, and help you grow.”
Students and parents showered Laurence with glowing praise in support letters nominating her for the award.
“Mrs. Laurence’s constant positivity kept her classroom feeling exciting, safe and comfortable,” wrote Braelyn Burton, now a sophomore at Lamphere High. “As a high school student, her constant support helped me through my parents’ divorce and death of a close uncle; she was such a comfort, and helped me stay focused in high school. Whenever someone asks me what I want to be when I grow up, I answer that I want to grow up to be just like Mrs. Laurence.”
Ariana Moskwa, a parent in the district, wrote, “Being able to trust in another person to care for your child for so many hours out of the week is not the easiest task, especially these days. You hope that they love your child as much as you do. With Sarah, you never doubt for a second the love she has for her students and her profession. She is 100% our Teacher of the Year.”
Laurence said the lifelong connections she forms with students begins with earning their trust.
“I think that relationships in learning are key. It’s important that a child trusts you, and knows that you care about them and want them to be successful. You try to inspire them and motivate them, and show them balance and perseverance when times are tough,” Laurence said. “No matter where a child comes from, I try to have empathy and understanding. You need to give them that grace in order for them to perform. And there’s this mutual understanding that it’s not me versus them. It’s us together in a partnership — we’re a team.”
This attitude was evident even when she received her award, with one of the visitors asking, “Is this Ms. Laurence’s classroom,” and Laurence reflexively replying, “No, this is our class.”
“I hope I didn’t offend,” Laurence said later, with a laugh.
She said the ability to meet kids where they’re at comes with experience.
“I think having my children, too, and going through some of the things we’ve gone through as a family has helped mold me into who I am, and helps me remember that we should always try to make someone’s day,” Laurence said. “I think that’s my goal with my students. They might’ve gotten into an argument with family that morning, or maybe they didn’t eat breakfast, but I’m going to be the one who makes or breaks their day. So I need to put on that hat, and make the decision to really be there for them in every way possible.
“And sometimes, it’s not all academics,” she said. “Sometimes, it’s a talk in the hallway or having lunch with them, or making an extra phone call. I know during COVID, I read bedtime stories to some of the kids. All of the sudden, we didn’t see each other anymore, so I was trying to bring back some of that connection. It’s thinking outside the box, trying to help them grow so they can move on, and when they leave me, there will be this ripple effect of learning, where they hopefully help others.”
She said special thanks goes to her family, including her daughter, Emma, and son, Connor.
“They’re my entire world,” she said of her children. “They come first with every decision I make. And I know they’ve been very kind with my job as an educator, because I know there were times I was home late or didn’t get to do something for them because I was doing it for my classroom. They’ve been so amazing and supportive to me.”
Jeanne Berlin, a communications specialist for the Lamphere Schools, noted that Laurence’s award marks the 10th time a Lamphere teacher has received an Oakland County Teacher of the Year award in the last 11 sessions that the county has given out the awards. The awards were not held in the first two years of the pandemic.
“Oh, God, Sarah is just amazing,” Berlin said of Laurence. “She’s been here for over 20 years, and I’ve been here for 25 years. She is just so warm and encouraging, like a bright light — you just light up when you see her, and she sees you. You just feel good.”