Announcing the 2024 DTE Energy Foundation Educator of the Year

By UMS

UMS and the DTE Energy Foundation are pleased to honor Estabrook Elementary’s Tyler Rindo as the 2024 DTE Energy Foundation Educator of the Year.

The award recognizes and celebrates educators who value the importance of arts education and create a culture for the arts to flourish in their school communities. Rindo (he/they), who has taught music at Estabrook since 2017, has designed a student-centered curriculum, organized performances, and received multiple “Teacher of the Year” nominations from Embracing Our Differences Michigan and elsewhere.

Tyler Rindo teaching at Estabrook Elementary

A music graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Rindo is currently pursuing a master’s in Teaching and Learning with an ESL endorsement at Wayne State University.

The selection team was especially impressed by their experience supporting the arts in early childhood, historically teaching first-grade English and music in China, developing music programs for Kindergarten through 4th-grade classes in Wisconsin, and leading school-wide initiatives like Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Unified Arts.

Rindo is also passionate about the performing arts and stage performance. A clarinetist outside of the classroom, he shines as a member of the award-winning local ensemble Djangophonique and supports art-making in the larger community in ways such as hosting the UMS Open Mic Night at the Ypsilanti Freighthouse in the fall of 2024.

They bring these qualities to the classroom, celebrating and showcasing the unique talents of Ypsilanti students through school-wide concerts and talent shows. Last April, Rindo organized field trips so that every single Estabrook student had the opportunity to enrich their education with a live performing arts experience hosted by UMS at the Ypsilanti Freighthouse.

“We’re so thrilled to present Tyler Rindo with the DTE Educator of the Year Award for 2024,” said Terri Park, UMS Associate Director of Learning & Engagement. “We’ve been able to see Rindo’s light firsthand through his continued participation in a variety of our K-12 programming and through working with him at the Ypsilanti Freighthouse. He so often uplifts and supports creativity in all students and we wanted to take this opportunity to uplift him.”

As part of the award, UMS will bring an artist for a class visit or provide an opportunity to meet with the artist at a UMS School Day Performance next season, in addition to a $250 award honorarium.

Terri Park (UMS associate director of learning & engagement), Tyler Rindo, and Patricia Hinojosa (Senior Strategist, DTE Energy Foundation)

“The DTE Energy Foundation is proud to support the University Musical Society and to honor Tyler Rindo,” said Rodney Cole, president, DTE Foundation. “Teachers play a crucial role in their students’ lives, and Tyler’s dedication to making the arts an integral part of education will have a lasting impact. His work exemplifies what it means to be the DTE Energy Foundation Educator of the Year.”