Learn how you can support Ashton's Miracle Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to doing acts of kindness in honor of our late 6-year-old son, Ashton Arabo. Thank you for helping the Arabo family #spreadkindness in his memory!
Melody Arabo is currently an Outreach Specialist for EdReports.org, developing partnerships with states, districts, and teacher leaders across the country to ensure students have access to high quality instructional materials. Prior to this role, she was a Teacher Ambassador Fellow with the U.S. Department of Education for two years and was honored to serve as the 2015 Michigan Teacher of the Year. She is a proud graduate of Michigan State University for both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and spent fifteen years teaching third grade in the Walled Lake School District in West Bloomfield, MI. In addition to being a wife, mother of three, and author, Melody is a passionate advocate for bullying prevention, special education, teacher leadership, and all things education. Melody was named Michigan Teacher of the Year on May 15, 2014 by State Superintendent Mike Flanagan during a surprise assembly filled with students, colleagues, family, and friends.
|
In her role as MTOY, Melody worked to highlight all of the outstanding advancements of the public school system and celebrate the hard work and unmatched dedication of public school teachers. She believes that teacher leadership is essential to growth and progression in education. Our system is in a state of change and transformation, and teachers should be at the forefront. Melody is an alumni of the Galileo Teacher Leadership Academy and was a teacher representative for the Walled Lake Instructional Council (iCouncil), a diverse group of leaders working together to define good instruction and implement the latest research-based best practices. In 2014, she was selected as one of 96 Master Teachers from across the country to take part in the NEA/BetterLesson Master Teacher Project. She became a Michigan Educator Voice Lead Fellow in 2014 and was named 2015's Oakland County Elite 40 Under 40 winner.
|
Melody's purpose is to use her passion and teacher leadership skills to make a lasting, positive impact in the education field. Her goal is to create opportunities for teacher leaders to make a greater impact and influence educational decisions, while remaining close to the classroom. She has been speaking and presenting in districts throughout Michigan and working with influential education organizations across the United States. Melody facilitates professional development workshops in a range of topics, including tips for effective leadership and advocacy, reading comprehension strategies, math fact fluency, and her biggest passion, bully prevention. She published a children's picture book called Diary of a Real Bully, which teaches kids the difference between real life bullying and the bully stereotypes we see on tv and in the media. This book, which aims to "Identify the bully in all of us," is available here, with opportunities for author visits and workshops here.
|
|
|