May 14, 2008
LANSING - The State Board of Education on Tuesday presented Janice Ambs with the 2008 Stella Gikas Professional Support Staff Excellence Award. The award, first presented in 1991, is given annually to an outstanding support person in the Michigan Department of Education.
Ambs, a secretary in the department's Office of Career and Technical Education, has been employed at the department for 37 years.
State Board of Education President Kathleen N. Straus presented Ambs with the gold apple Gikas Award and certificate at the State Board of Education's monthly meeting.
The Stella Gikas Award is named after a long-time State Board of Education support staff person and is given to an employee who provides leadership to others, outstanding service to education, dedication to excellence, and maintains the highest professional standards.
Relaying some of the statements submitted with the nomination of Ambs for the award, Straus stated, "Janice gives a lot of feedback to staff, formally at staff meetings, but more importantly informally to assure staff that they are doing a good job. Janice is an excellent representative of the office. Her knowledge, experience and professionalism make her a respected member of any meeting she attends. She is a great contributor and does an excellent job of disseminating information she receives from meetings to the appropriate persons."
Ambs, a resident of Onondaga, thanked the State Board of Education and those she has worked with at the Office of Career and Technical Education. After receiving the award, Ambs said: "I have been with the department for 37 years and very proud to have done so. I have had the privilege to work with amazing and truly dedicated staff who do everything they can for the students. To me this hasn't been work, it's been a privilege."
Janice and her husband Steve, are parents to their four children: Lisa, Jessica, Stephanie, and Scott.
In other action Tuesday:
The State Board of Education unanimously approved revised professional standards for Michigan's teachers that outline the skills and knowledge that teachers in Michigan should have when they enter the profession and expectations for continued professional growth. The standards were created by the Professional Standard Commission for Teachers and put out for public review prior to the Board's approval.
The Board also unanimously adopted a resolution stating that it will not list as surplus property Camp Tuhsmeheta, nearly 300-acres in west Michigan owned by the state and under the oversight of the Department of Education. The resolution is meant to prevent any attempt to sell the property that is used for education and recreation programming for blind students and their families.
The Board unanimously approved revisions to teacher standards for the Educational Technology endorsement to teachers' licenses. The revisions align the license endorsement with the new high school graduation requirement for all students to have at least one on-line learning experience. The new standards will require new and experienced teachers who earn this endorsement to successfully complete collaborative on-line learning experiences and demonstrate an understanding of, and the ability to create, an on-line learning experience, and demonstrate continued growth in technology operations and concepts for teaching and learning in on-line environments.
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