Dearborn Edsel Ford educator honored by Michigan Lottery

A Wayne County educator known for her dedication to student success has been honored with an Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, Khadije Kourani, is a math teacher at Edsel Ford High School. The school is part of the Dearborn 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. The news segment featuring Kourani will air this evening (Feb. 13).

Kourani says making a positive impact on students’ lives attracted her to a career in education.

Positive impact

“What attracts me to a career in education is the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of my students. Mathematics, often perceived as challenging or intimidating, provides a unique platform for fostering critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and logical reasoning,” she said.

“I am driven by the belief that every student has the potential to succeed in math with the right guidance and support.”

Kourani was nominated by a colleague. The nomination read:

“Teachers often go into teaching for the need to make a larger impact. This is no feat. As educators, we deal with the emotional toll it has because we are working with children.

“Our commitment to make a difference has its ups and downs and often leads to feelings of never doing enough. Khadije Kourani is an educator that never allows that emotional toll to overcome her. She is a model educator who day in and out puts her students first.

Hands-on approach

She works closely with students who have found refuge here in the United States. Khadije utilizes a hands-on learning approach and aims to connect math with practical real-world problems.

Khadije is always looking for ways to improve her craft, as it is a means to serve her students.

Kourani earned a bachelor’s degree from Davenport University and two master’s degrees from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

In addition, she completed the Educational Specialist Certification at Wayne State University. She has been an educator for 14 years, the last seven in her 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.