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Yamaka Bracey poses for a photo with her mother, Yvonne May, and father, David May, after accepting her Excellence in Education award from Michigan State University basketball coach Tom Izzo.
A Kent County educator known for her leadership in the classroom and her school and her commitment to finding new ways to help students succeed has been honored with an Excellence in Education award from the Michigan Lottery.
The award winner, Yamaka Bracey, teaches a combined fourth-fifth grade class at Campus Elementary School in Grand Rapids. The school is part of the Grand Rapids Public Schools district.
Each winner also will be featured in a news segment on the Lottery’s media partner stations: WXYZ-TV in Detroit, FOX 17 in Grand Rapids, and FOX 47 in Lansing. The news segment featuring Bracey will air this evening in Grand Rapids and Lansing and then on Thursday in Detroit.
For the Excellence in Education awards program, the Lottery has teamed up with Michigan State University basketball coach Tom Izzo. Izzo met recently with Bracey at the Breslin Center and presented her with the award.
She said her students motivate her to do her best each day. “I don’t see it as doing anything extra, but simply what I do and who I am. My students motivate me every day. They all come from different walks of life. My students need me to help them navigate through various circumstances in life. The Grand Rapids Public Schools district has served as a catalyst that has room for every child, parent and adult to make a difference the best way they can.
Yamaka Bracey talks with Michigan State University basketball coach, Tom Izzo, after accepting her Excellence in Education award.
The Excellence in Education award nomination for Bracey noted that she serves as a lead teacher and mentors other teachers, serves as a facilitator for professional learning communities, and has worked with colleagues on classroom enrichment techniques. She also serves as a member of the instructional leadership team.
The nomination also pointed out that Bracey has increased parental involvement by launching a “lunch bunch” program that offers parents opportunities to be with their children at school and learn about, and involve them, with the students’ classroom work.
Bracey also provides after school sessions to teach parents skills and strategies to use at home to help their children with their studies.
Among other volunteer projects at the school, she created and coordinated the annual Black History Month celebration and helps lead fundraisers to support special events and activities for students. She also coordinated a water drive through the school that brought families, staff, and communities together to provide more than 1,000 bottles of water for the residents of Flint.
Bracey has been an educator for seven years, the past three in her current position at Campus Elementary. She earned an associate degree at Grand Rapids Community College, and then a bachelor degree in education from Aquinas College. She is in the process of completing course work for a master’s degree in urban education from Davenport University.