Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Lake Linden-Hubbell Middle-High School teacher Heather French instructs seventh-graders Brad Davis and Nick Heinz Tuesday. French was named Region 1 Teacher of the Year, and is a finalist for the state award.

LAKE LINDEN — Heather French has the only job she’s ever wanted.

“I can’t picture myself being a nurse, an airplane pilot, or anything else,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher … because we’re a small school and they have me several times, I really get to know them over the years.”

Now, she’s not just a teacher, but the teacher of the year. French, who teaches English and visual arts at Lake Linden-Hubbell MIddle-High School, was named as Region 1 Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Department of Education this month. The region encompasses the Upper Peninsula.

French is one of the 10 finalists for state Teacher of the Year, expected to be announced next month.

An Escanaba native, French graduated from Michigan Technological University with an English degree. She’s been teaching at Lake Linden for nine years.

To keep students interested, French customizes lesson plans to fit their interests. For an English class enamored of murder mysteries, she assigned the children’s book “The Westing Game,” a whodunit set at a will reading. It also helps to be enthused about what she’s teaching, French said.

“If I’m dragging them through it, they’re going to feel that way,” she said.

Like all teachers, she’s had to figure out how to adjust during COVID-19. As much as they help, masks add a degree of difficulty, she said.

“I didn’t realize how much students took from facial cues, especially little kids when you’re reading,” she said. “So that makes it really, really hard.”

In her role as art teacher, she’s had to deal with the requirement for each student to have their own designated materials.

“If there’s anything that could be cross-contaminated, I’m bleach-cleaning it, so it’s a lot of extra prep on my end,” she said.

This year, French took on the arts program at Lake Linden, which had been part-time for years. She got certified as an art teacher this summer, then cleaned out the art room and set up a curriculum.

So far, both French and the students enjoy it.

“There’s a lot of things they hadn’t covered, so we’re making sure we get all those things this year,” she said. “They hate Zentangles — never want to see another Zentangle. But they loved sewing. Go figure.”

French learned she was nominated in the fall. She submitted the application packet — three essays, three letters of recommendation and a resume — but figured it wouldn’t lead anywhere.

It did. She advanced to the next round in December, requiring another three essays and a headshot.

At the start of April, she found out she’d been named the Region 1 winner.

“I had 24 hours notice when it came out,” she said. “Then the next day, I opened up Facebook and my face was on everything. That was a lot.”

Last year’s winner started an email chain with French and the other nine nominees. She’s enjoyed hearing about the differences in lesson plans around the state, such as reading materials in Detroit geared more toward a heavily Black student population.

“There’s some really good ideas they’ve thrown out there, so I’ve enjoyed that part of it,” she said. “They can’t believe we still have snow on the ground.”

For the final round, French was given four days’ notice to put together a 15-minute presentation on teaching. She gave it on a Zoom call with 12 people.

“There were some big names from the state on there, so it was a little intimidating,” she said.

They had questions for her. She had to describe herself as a teacher and a person. She also had to talk about how she provides equity in the classroom, or creates an atmosphere of respect.

If French wins, she’d spend about three weeks next school year downstate consulting with the state Board of Education. She doesn’t like being away from the students for that long. But she recognizes it’d be a big deal.

“It makes me nervous, but we’ll see,” she said. “That would be huge, not just for me, but for the school, the county. A little recognition thrown our way is an awesome thing.”