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	The Ypsilanti Courier A Heritage Newspaper Weekly Publication

Local music teacher honored with award

PUBLISHED: April 24, 2008

Photo courtesy of Ypsilanti Schools Erickson music teacher Crystal Harding, center, was honored with MASB's 2008 Education Excellence Award.

For more than 20 years, Crystal Davis-Harding has been bringing the beat and students keep dancing and singing to the sound of her music. Her adaptations of existing musicals and her own original compositions have garnered her Michigan Association of School Boards' 2008 "Education Excellence" award.

Davis-Harding has been teaching music at Erickson Elementary for most of her teaching career and since 2001 she has presented a spring musical. Her students have performed in such ambitious productions as "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat," the opera "Carmen" and in 2006 her original score, "Parables." This year the upper elementary students will present an adaptation of "Annie." Davis-Harding, who also received the Ypsilanti Area Chamber of Commerce's E3 Award in 2006, was flattered by the state award."I am humbled and honored by this recognition," Davis-Harding said. "I could not do this without the support of Erickson's principal, Kevin Carney, our incredible Erickson staff, parents and, of course, our talented students. Our productions have evolved over the years and it is an event that the students anticipate each spring."More than 150 school districts across the state applied for the Education Excellence Awards. Programs selected for the top 27 awards have demonstrated their commitment to excellence in education through innovative programs aimed at improving student achievement.

The 2008 Education Excellence Award winners will be honored at a May 6 luncheon hosted by MASB and SET SEG School Insurance Specialists, at the Eagle Eye Golf Club in Bath.