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Chelsea Update Focus on Teachers: Trisha Pollack

Photo by Crystal Hayduk. Trisha Pollack.
Photo by Crystal Hayduk. Trisha Pollack.

Story and Photo By Crystal Hayduk

Fifth grade teacher Trisha Pollack always knew she wanted to be an educator, thanks to her love for children and various jobs doing child care when she was a young person.

She gained a sense of fun and the ability to be a jokester from her father, qualities that have contributed to her teaching success according to South Meadows’ Principal Stacie Battaglia. “She sings, she dances, she laughs; she isn’t afraid to show her students her silly side – a definite plus with fifth graders,” said Battaglia.

Battaglia knows Pollack well, after team teaching together for ten years prior to becoming principal. “I don’t know if it was her kindness, her happiness, her love of teaching or a combination of it all, but our time together simply worked so well,” she said.

Pollack, now in her 13th year teaching in the Chelsea School District, earned her undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University where she majored in math and minored in the arts group, a combination of theater, art, and technology. She obtained her master’s degree from Walden University with an emphasis on integrating technology into curriculum.

Her favorite subjects are science and math. She currently team teaches with Beth Bell and Tracy Heydlauff, so Pollack manages the science curriculum three times each morning. “We do a nice job with science in the fifth grade,” she said, “especially with labs that make it really fun.”

Pollack’s afternoons are spent teaching reading and math. “I just love the objectivity of math,” she said.

She admits to being a planner and an organizer, both at home and in the classroom. Yet she also enjoys the creativity that teaching requires. “I might have a plan in place, but then the plan goes out the window and I have to go with what is happening on a particular day,” said Pollack.

In addition to teaching and mentoring new staff, Pollack serves on South’s technology committee and the communications team.

Pollack credits her mother as the source of her “emotional intelligence” and sensitivity to others. She finds great satisfaction in observing her students’ growth over the course of the school year, and is grateful for her ability to positively influence and impact their lives.

Battaglia said that transitioning from Pollack’s teaching partner to her “boss” has been easy. “Trisha Pollack is an exceptional teacher. She cares so much about what she does, and about the kids she teaches. She works hard and is always willing to learn and try new things.”

Despite the challenge of constant change in both technology and curriculum, Pollack is happy with her work. She is thankful for the parent support that Chelsea teachers receive, as well as the camaraderie among the staff. “I’m in the right career,” said Pollack. “I wouldn’t change it.”

Curious kids want to know.
Q:  Have you lived in Michigan your whole life?
A:  Yes, I grew up in Canton and still live in Canton.

Q:  What inspired you to be a teacher?
A:  My third grade teacher inspired me because she made learning fun and taught us so much that year. She taught us sign language and would do special things for us, like take us out to lunch when we learned all of our multiplication facts.

Q:  What do you like about teaching?
A:  I love getting to know the kids and inspiring them in any way I can. My ultimate goal is for my students to develop a love for learning.

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