Don and Rebekah Brewer, instructors in Imlay City High School's theater and dance program, were recently featured in the #proudMIEducator video produced by the Michigan Department of Education.Photo provided
Imlay city — Since joining Imlay City Community Schools (ICS), theater instructors Don and Rebecca Brewer have worked in earnest to expand the district’s performing arts offerings.
In just a few short years, this husband-and-wife teaching team garnered statewide attention and the ICS Fine Arts program received attention from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE).
Earlier this month, MDE and the Michigan Office of Outstanding Educators released a #proudMIEducator video featuring the Brewers and Imlay City theater and dance programs. The four-and-a-half-minute video highlights the district's recent accomplishments in the performing arts and includes interviews with ICS Fine Arts students Cora Fox, Jackson McDowell, and Jayden Giles, and includes three Each person spoke about how the district's theater program impacted their educational experience.
Since 2016, the #proudMIeducator series has featured educators and supporters of Michigan educators who share a passion for education. Videos featuring Brewers and her ICS Fine Arts program can be viewed on the MDE YouTube page.
“It's important that we continue to emphasize the voices of educators,” said State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice. “The #proudMIeducator campaign is one way he celebrates the efforts of passionate educators like the Brewers. We hope their stories will be heard and others consider a career in education.” hoping.”
ICS has one of only three performing arts programs in the state to receive CTE (Career and Technical Education) accreditation from MDE. This means the district's theater and dance program is recognized as an accredited college and career training site in the visual and performing arts.
In 2023, the district opened its new Performing Arts Center (PAC), a 500-seat state-of-the-art auditorium, as part of a $36 million bond proposed in 2019. PAC has already hosted several large-scale school performances, including: Wizard of Oz, Puff and little mermaid.
Rebecca, performing arts coordinator and instructor for the ICHS dance program, joined the district two years ago. Don, a musical theater director at ICS Fine Arts, has been with the district for three years. Brewers has an extensive academic background both in and out of the classroom, and professional experience in the visual and performing arts, from nonprofit youth musical theater programs to Broadway.
ICS Superintendent Stu Cameron said the district is excited to participate in the MDE video series and is proud of the Brewers' efforts to promote theater and dance in Imlay.
“This is not only great PR for our district, but also about how we best serve our students, the power of the positive relationships we build with our students, and the value of our programs. Revealing our core beliefs about the nature of “cutting edge”, our support. Provide our community with excellent facilities to teach our children and the great work done in our performing arts programs. ” he said. “Our art department, director (and teacher) Rebecca Brewer, instructor Don Brewer, and the high school administration and staff are all responsible for building such a great program for our children. I would like to congratulate them on this and they truly deserve state-wide recognition.”
Rebecca said she and Don felt honored to be selected as #proudMIEducators and were excited to see their students featured in the film. He also said the CTE designation is a testament to the investments the district has made in creating high-quality performing and visual arts programs.
“CTE accreditation is a huge benefit for students who complete our program and can waive their fourth-year math and third-year science credits to free up space in their schedules and focus on subjects more relevant to their career goals.” she said. . “The CTE designation also gives us the freedom to build student leadership and provide lab learning opportunities for students as an embedded component of their research.”
Prior to coming to ICHS, he taught business education as a career and technical education teacher at Carman-Ainsworth High School and then spent 11 years in administrative positions in Genesee County, including a building-level principal position and a central office-level position. She began teaching dance at the age of 14 in her school's community education program, Clio, and began choreographing at 16. She choreographed over 30 of her shows at the high school and college levels and danced competitively into her 20s.
Prior to teaching at ICHS, Don was an Assistant Professor of Drama at Oakland University and was a professional actor with numerous credits on Broadway, touring, and regionally for over 20 years. He taught drama at a high school in New Jersey before returning to Michigan.
