Archived Alumni Notes (April 2001-September 2002)

October 28, 2002

Esther Williams ‘65 retired in June from being principal of Livonia's Coolidge Elementary School. She had 49 years of service in education. She was recently featured in the Detroit Free Press for her many accomplishments.

W. Frances Deckard ‘71, ‘74, a retired teacher from Willow Run's Edmondson Middle School, recently was named "Most Valuable Member" of the local branch of the NAACP. She is an Ypsilanti District Library board member, among many other activities.

Dennis Desmariais ‘85 is now the superintendent of the Northwest district.

Robert Szymoniak ‘95 is now the superintendent of the Onaway district.
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Frank J. Krimbacher ‘49 died recently. He formerly taught in Plymouth, Chelsea, and Anchorage, AK. He retired as head of buildings and grounds for the Plymouth district.

October 21, 2002

Steven Gaynor is the new superintendent of the Bloomfield Hills district.

During the EMU Recognition of Excellence ceremony on October 12, several high school teachers were recognized as "Exceptional Educators." These included: Tim Heim ‘83, ‘91, a counselor at Saline High School; Amy Six-King ‘96, ‘97, a teacher of government at Owosso High School; and Faye Valtadoros ‘98, a teacher of Japanese at Lakeview High School, Battle Creek.

October 14, 2002

Amy Wagner ‘98, ‘02 is in her third year as Flag Coordinator and second year as administrator for the EMU Marching Band. She has also taught in the Novi schools.

October 7, 2002

Susan Davenport, a fifth-grade teacher at Lakeville Elementary School in the Oxford, MI district, was recently named by the Detroit News as "Teacher of the Week." Davenport has taught in Atlanta, GA and, for the past 28 years, in the Oxford district. She has been instrumental in bringing a camping program to her school.

Delores Ashley Blackburn ‘63, ‘77, who taught for 30 years at Ford Elementary School in Willow Run, has been inducted into the Willow Run High School Hall of Fame.

William I. "Bill" McGill ‘75, ‘82, principal of Willow Run High School, recently was featured in the Ann Arbor News. A former U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he was recognized for introducing various modes of peace studies at WRHS. A former special education teacher, he was previously an assistant principal in Rochester Hills and at John Glenn High School in the Wayne-Westland district.

Peggy Flacks, a second-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School in the Wayne-Westland district, was recently named by the Detroit News as a "Teacher of the Week."

Mark Sharp, who recently completed his Ed.D., will be one of the presenters for the session on the topic of differences between pupil-teacher ratio and class size, grades K-3, in Michigan, the U.S., and internationally at the Mid South Educational Research Association meeting in Chattanooga next month.

Marilyn Svaluto ‘67, ‘70, ‘71, principal of Davidson Middle School in Southgate, has been named Middle School Principal of the Year for 2002-03 by the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals.

Last Modified on November 1, 2002