Birmingham educator earns Michigan Lottery’s Excellence In Education award

An Oakland County educator who is known for making his students feel safe and respected has been honored with an Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, Jason Pesamoska, is the principal at West Maple Elementary School. The school is part of Birmingham Public Schools.

The Michigan Lottery established the Excellence In Education awards in 2014 to recognize outstanding public-school educators across the state during the school year.

Winners of the weekly award receive a $2,000 cash prize. At the end of the school year, one of the weekly award winners will be selected to receive the Lottery’s Educator of the Year award and will receive a $10,000 cash prize.

Each winner also is featured in a news segment on the Lottery’s media partner stations: WXYZ-TV in Detroit, FOX 17 in Grand Rapids, FOX 47 in Lansing, WNEM-TV in Saginaw, and WWTV-TV in Traverse City.

Total involvement

“As a principal, Jason Pesamoska is involved in all aspects of the school from working with students, parents, and staff members, to building operations,” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli.

“His ability to be a leader in his school, while also building relationships with each of the students and making them feel respected and valued everyday makes him an exceptional candidate for the Excellence in Education award.”

Pesamoska says the opportunity to create an environment where students can thrive led him to pursue a career in education.

“The privilege to work alongside children, and now adults, to expand their horizons and abilities past what they may have ever thought was imaginable is what attracted me to a career in education,” Pesamoska said.

“I wanted to be a listening ear and a kind heart in times of need and create an environment where all can thrive.”

‘Beyond incredible’

Pesamoska was nominated for the award by a parent of a current student.

“Mr. Pez, as he’s referred to, is beyond an incredible educator and administrator of the school,” the nomination state. “West Maple is not a small school, yet he manages to be at every corner of it, all the time, before, during and after school.

“He knows every kid’s name in the school and every kid feels loved and respected by him. Equally as important, the kids feel safe when he’s around.

“His love and care for the entire school, inclusive of kids that attend the school, their siblings and entire families is beyond incredible. He simply has a pulse on the entire operation and does it with a love, care and respect I’ve never seen before. I am 100% confident that every kid and parent who has interacted with him feels the same.”

Wayne State grad

Pesamoska earned a bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree from Wayne State University. He has been an educator for 17 years, the last seven in his current position.

Excellence in Education award nominees are evaluated on the following criteria:

• Excellence – Their work consistently helps students and/or their schools or school districts advance to higher levels of academic achievement.
• Dedication – They consistently go above and beyond expectations to help students succeed.
• Inspiration – Their work inspires others around them to exceed expectations either academically or professionally.
• Leadership – They demonstrate clear leadership skills in their positions with their school or school districts.
• Effectiveness – The nominee’s work has clear and positive results on the educational advancement of students within the school or school district.