Building Stronger Communities Together

Our teachers should be recognized more often for their hard work and commitment to making a difference in their students' lives. Highline invites you to nominate someone you feel deserves to be recognized as a Teacher of the Month. Winning teachers will receive a gift card.

Congratulations to our February 2025 Teacher of the Month: Amy Chartier, a 5th grade teacher at Escanaba Upper Elementary School.
Amy has been teaching for 17 years, starting with Menominee Public Schools, moved to Holy Name for nine years, and she’s been at the Upper Elementary School for 6 years.
Science and Social Studies are her favorite subjects to teach. Thanks to her high school Science teacher for making teaching science cool. Amy’s favorite part of the day is greeting her students in the morning and their end of the day routine where they can share their AAA of the day – Ah ha moment, Appreciation of something or someone, Applause for someone/something for an accomplishment - ending their day on a good note.
She strives to make sure the kids know they are capable of doing great things, they are safe and respected in her classroom. Having a positive attitude and being kind to others are as important as the subjects she teaches them every day. Ms. Chartier also shows them to have a growth mindset, it’s ok to make mistakes and learn from them. She grows every day with her students.
Outside of school Amy enjoys camping, going to the beach or park with her family. She is a mom to three amazing foster children and dog Tootsie. She loves to be outside taking in everything the outdoors has to offer. She’s a hunter. She loves to read historical non-fiction and binge watch Netflix.
Amy’s students nominated her for teacher of the month. They decorated a jar that holds comments or compliments, created their own Teacher of the month award and presented her with them in December. Here are a few comments from her students, “Ms. Chartier is the best teacher in the whole world! She is kind, caring, cool, nice, funny, sweet, smart, caring, thoughtful, patient, and always handles every situation nicely and with explanations, and makes learning fun. With her encouragement, we feel more confident and capable of doing things ourselves and helps us take the lead in our own learning.”
Ms. Chartier you are doing everything right in guiding your students every day and it shows!
Please tell a teacher “Thank you”—and please tell Amy Chartier, THANK YOU, for all her hard work, kindness, and dedication to her students.

We are pleased to announce Mr. Andre Johnson as our Teacher of the Month for November!    
For the past two years, Mr. Johnson has taught math at Upson Lee High School and has been the head coach of the girls’ basketball and track and field teams. He is from Lanett, Alabama and graduated from Jacksonville State University. This is his tenth year of teaching. 
Mr. Johnson says teaching is his calling, and he loves encouraging students to dream big and help one another. 
In his free time, Mr. Johnson enjoys cooking, playing golf, reading, and spending time with his three sons: Alonzo, Andre Jr., and Jalen. His goal is to teach his children and students to always put God first and to stand up for their beliefs. 
Thank you, Mr. Johnson, for being a champion for so many. In the spirit of the holiday season, we will forgive you for being an Alabama Football fan.
 

We want to announce Carsonville Fire Department as our first responder of the month. Every one of these firefighters deserves recognition. Such Brave and kind men AND women. Thank you for all that you do.  

Dr. Adam Ingrao of Bee Wise Farms explains exactly what high-speed internet means to his life, his home, and his work in this short but powerful video.