Michelle Corey

Long before the recent movie stirred the masses to Pay It Forward, one local educator was instilling in her students her foundational belief in Passing It On. "I know that I cannot change the world, but I can teach my kids - one by one - to see that they can each help to make our world a better place."

For the past 35 years, Michele Corey has educated Burrell High School students in more than the Spanish language and culture. Yes, she takes her 45 minutes five days a week to teach vocabulary and conjugate verbs, but the students in her classes come away with so much more. She said, "We learn and we have fun at the same time. As a teacher, you have to be willing to be flexible and have a sense of humor. Two of the most important elements to teaching is a knowledge of the subject and a sense of humor." Miss Corey lets her students know it's ok to make mistakes and that her classroom is a perfect place for them to laugh at themselves; and she doesn't expect anything of them that she doesn't expect of herself.

On top of that Miss Corey believes, "It's important that I know my kids." She endeavors to have an understanding of all aspects of their lives and doesn't isolate her students as only Spanish students. "My classroom really is a home to the kids." At the end of every year, she takes photos that her senior students have given her and frames them and decorates the walls of the classroom. She even has several generations of families adorning the room. "It makes it their room, not just my room."

Miss Corey was first introduced to Spanish in junior high when her school was adding it to the curriculum. The deal was that if students took Spanish, they didn't have to take Home Economics, "And I would do anything to get out of Home Ec," she laughed. It came easily and she just fell in love with the language. In fact, in tenth grade she went to a Spanish competition at Temple University and won first place. Later, she attended IUP because they offered a program of six months study abroad. So for six months in college she studied at the University of Valladolid in Spain. Then for the next six or seven years, she spent every summer in Spain. Now she takes her students on trips to Spain in the summer, and as a result of this influence, many of her students have gone on to pursue foreign languages and travel in college and their careers. In fact, one of her former students will be teaching Spanish at Kiski High School this year.

Beyond her responsibilities as a teacher, Miss Corey has been the junior class sponsor and the prom sponsor for the past 13 years. These are positions she takes as seriously as her role as an educator. It's more than decorations, food selections, and entertainment; Michele Corey makes sure that anyone who wants to attend the prom can. However, her modesty prevents the mention of all the delicate and intricate ways she works to make that happen.

Outside the classroom, Miss Corey participates and encourages her students to participate in the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Twelve years ago she acted on her desire to help others and to teach her students to do the same by getting involved with this program. In order to accomplish making a wish for a child, which is called being a Wish Maker, participants must raise $3400. The first year, she and her classes sold $6800 worth of candy bars to be Wish Makers because they received 50% of the sales for the foundation. Every year Miss Corey added some other fundraiser project so they could raise even more money for the foundation. Over the years they have raised around $132,000 and made wishes come true for at least 35 children. "Teaching kids that they can reach out and help people - I think that's real important."

The impact Michele Corey has had on 35 years of students has reached beyond the walls of her classroom and Burrell High School. This is evidenced in the recent recognition she received for being an outstanding educator. She was nominated nine times by past and present students to an organization called the Teachers Excellence Foundation. This program to reward and recognize excellent teachers in southwestern Pennsylvania awarded $63,000 in prize money including a top award of $20,000 to teachers in the 2002-2003 school year. Teachers can be nominated by current and past students, administrators, parents, or other teachers. Of the 2600 nominees, 60 Teachers of Distinction are selected and invited to attend a Celebration of Teachers banquet where seven top winners are named. The seven winners, consisting of silver and gold winners and one grand winner, are chosen based on an interview process and several essays. Much to her surprise and delight, Miss Corey won a silver award and was recognized as one of the top seven teachers out of the 2600 who were nominated. Adding to her honor, out of the top seven, she was the only teacher from one of our local districts.

Like many, Miss Corey's dedication to excellence spills over into other areas of her life. She is a member of St. George Orthodox Church in New Kensington, and in the past she was the superintendent of the Sunday School program, as well as the evening program director for the church summer camp for three years, and the Bible coach for a competitive team who took first place seven years running in eastern PA.

Over the years, Michele Corey's commitment to doing good for the sake of doing good and passing it on to others has inspired countless in the Alle-Kiski Valley to follow suit. Miss Corey says, "If you don't love kids and the subject you're teaching, you can't teach effectively." So, regarding her future, "I'm gonna keep doing it till I'm not having fun anymore." Our hometowns are truly rich in people devoted to others and Michele Corey is one of the brightest gems of our local treasure.