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Detroit Educator wins $10,000 prize and is named 2021 educator of the year

2021 Educator of the year
Posted at 9:58 AM, Jun 08, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-08 09:58:11-04

DETROIT, MI (WXYZ) — A Fisher Magnet Lower Academy social worker has been named the 2021 Educator of the Year and won a $10,000 prize from the Michigan Lottery’s Excellence in Education program.

The award winner, Janice Smith, has been working at Fisher Magnet for 30 years.

“I am truly humbled to be named the Michigan Lottery’s Educator of the Year,” said Smith. “I love all of the 652 students that we have and the wonderful amazing staff at Fisher. We cannot do this alone, we are all in this together."

The Michigan Lottery established the Excellence in Education awards in 2014 to recognize outstanding public school educators across the state during the school year. More than 800 educators from across the state were nominated for an Excellence in Education weekly award during the seventh year of the program and 34, including Smith, were selected to win a weekly award.