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.

This month, we are honoring 1st-grade teacher Melissa Nelson from Cameron Elementary School in Gladstone, Michigan.

She’s been teaching first grade for 6 years. She started her career subbing for a few years and then found a permanent sub position at Mid-Peninsula School and landed a full-time position at Cameron Elementary School.

Melissa is a high-energy teacher, which is perfect for first graders. Her favorite subject to teach is reading. The kids earn stickers for their charts where they compete with each other, Mrs. Nelson, and other staff members where they are recognized as “Reading Rockstars” and the top 5 get to do AA with her. It gets the kids super excited about reading.

She gets the kids outdoors as much as possible by taking their whiteboards outside to do math and science. She partners with the DNR to have Colter come in and help teach the kids how to identify trees around the school.

Mrs. Nelson applied for and received a grant for several sets of snowshoes so that she and other teachers can use them to learn how to snowshoe and do outdoor lessons in the woods as well.  She worked through the Summer compiling a list of volunteers that will help in her classroom and the other classes.

Melissa does not do a lot of paperwork lessons. She and her students are actively learning using several different methods, smart boards, white boards, math or vocabulary games, outdoor lessons, and shaving cream math! Making learning fun and giving the kids time to get up and move helps them to learn and stay healthy throughout the year. She is there for the kids, and she loves going outside for recess even if she isn’t on duty. You might find her outside playing in the snow, making snow angels with her students. She feels like she is absolutely where she belongs. 

Mrs. Austin, another high-energy teacher and former principal, Donna Flannery, inspired her to pursue a career in teaching by always encouraging her to go back to school and get her master’s degree to teach.  We asked Melissa what she would say to inspire someone to think about teaching, and she said, “If you’re thinking about a career in teaching, go for it! If you love kids and if you are having a bad day and want to feel happy, be a teacher, because the kids are amazing!”

Outside of school, she is a mom to two amazing young adults. She keeps herself active by swimming, skate skiing, snowshoeing, running, and reading. 

Mrs. Nelson, you are such an inspiration! Please tell a teacher “Thank you”—and please tell Mrs. Nelson THANK YOU, for her dedication to her students at Cameron Elementary School.

We're excited to recognize Mrs. Charlee English as our December Teacher of the Month- also to celebrate her as our 1,500th customer in Upson County!

Charlee was nominated for her incredible dedication and hard work in her role every single day. We are honored to celebrate an educator who makes such a meaningful impact on our students and community. Congratulations, and thank you for all you do!

Get those nominations ready for 2026!

Our first responders should be recognized for their dedication and commitment to public safety in our communities. Highline invites you to nominate someone you feel deserves to be recognized as a First Responder of the Month. Winning nominees will receive a gift card.

Congratulations to Kaleb Powell, EUP’s First Responder of the Month!

Originally from Southwest Michigan, Officer Powell joined Manistique Public Safety as a sworn officer in August 2022. With a strong background in Fire and EMS since 2014, he’s passionate about serving the community. 
Before joining MPS, he worked with Columbus Fire in McMillan and served as a Cardiac Rehab Coordinator at Helen Newberry Joy Hospital, where he also completed his EMT certification. He has always enjoyed helping others.
Off duty, he’s all about family. He and his wife enjoy disc golfing, biking, and spending quality time with their two young children. 

We appreciate your commitment to ensuring the safety of our communities. Thank you, Officer Powell!