LANSING, Mich., Jan. 20, 2026 – A Wexford County educator who is known for building a bond with his students and fostering a caring and safe environment has been honored with an Excellence in Education award from the Michigan Lottery.
The award winner, Brandon Bailey, is a fifth-grade math and science teacher at Forest View Elementary. The school is part of the Cadillac Area 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, WLUC in Marquette, WNEM-TV in Saginaw, and WWTV-TV in Traverse City. The news segment featuring Bailey will air this evening.
Bailey said the reward of passing his love of learning on to students inspired him to pursue a career in education.
“I love to teach. I am passionate about it. I found it to be very rewarding to pass on the love of learning to someone else. When I was young, I liked to learn through a hands-on approach, and that is what I wanted to be when I became a teacher. I wanted to put the learning in the hands of the students and watch them learn from the doing of whatever they are learning. I like the philosophy of when the student is involved, they learn.”
Bailey was nominated for the award by the parent of a student.
“Mr. Bailey, without a doubt, goes over and way beyond helping students surpass their expectation academically as well as positively impacting the student’s character, social skills, along with emotional development. Mr. Bailey achieves this by building a bond with students, displaying a trusting and safe environment. This environment encourages a positive learning experience, and I have to say positivity begets positivity. Mr. Bailey is not only an excellent role model inside the classroom, but he also interacts with his students outside the classroom on the playground promoting teamwork among the students, helping them get along with a diverse group of others. This in turn helps students effectively in groups inside the classroom which gives them expertise for working in an ever-evolving world.
“Mr. Bailey always finds the time for working one-on-one with students who are struggling or ones that are just asking for extra help. He loves his job and students, and it consistently shows throughout the school year by helping students reach their full potential. Going beyond the classroom, Mr. Bailey also helps his colleagues and the school district advance to a higher level of academic achievement as noted by upper grade level teachers and Cadillac Public School data. Enough can never be said about Mr. Bailey and his excellence in teaching.”
Bailey earned a bachelor’s degree from Aquinas College and a master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University. He has been an educator for 21 years, the last eight 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.