A Clinton County educator who is highly respected among his students has been honored with an Excellence in Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, Roy Davis Jr., is the Band Director at St. Johns Middle and High Schools. The schools are part of St. Johns 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 Davis will air this evening on FOX 47 and FOX 17. The segment will air on Jan. 2 on all other media partner stations.

“Mr. Davis is a highly esteemed educator and is someone his students look up to,” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “As a Band Director, he helps students grow through music, but he also helps them grow as individuals by encouraging them to achieve their highest potential.”

Davis said his desire to work with people inspired him to become an educator and seeing the “lightbulb” go off in his students is what keeps him going.

“I was attracted to a career in education because I enjoy working with people and seeing them grow as individuals. I was especially interested in teaching band because music is an avenue to foster that growth.

“What keeps me going as an educator is watching my students grow as humans. Seeing the ‘lightbulb’ go off in my students’ minds when they discover something is incredibly rewarding.”

Davis was nominated for the award by a parent of a student.

“My daughter has had Mr. Davis as a teacher for four years and I find it incredibly impressive how much respect his students have for him. They genuinely enjoy having him as a teacher and listen to his input. He has taught his students how to be responsible and respectful adults. He has done all of this by showing them what they are capable of and holding them to that standard. I have two sophomores who both feel Mr. Davis deserves such recognition for being an effective teacher.”

Davis earned a bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University and master’s degrees from Central Michigan University and the University of Michigan. He has been an educator for 26 years, all 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.