2021 Teacher of the Year - Sarah Stockton

Sarah Stockton is the Vocal Music Director at Walled Lake Western High School.  She directs 4 curricular choirs and 2 extra-curricular ensembles, as well as directs the all-school musical.  Before joining WLW in 2018, Mrs. Stockton was the Vocal Music Director at Grand Blanc High School since 2006 and choir teacher at Grand Blanc West Middle School since 2009.  Sarah holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, studying under Dr. David Rayl and Dr. Jonathan Reed, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Central Michigan University. Her mentor, Dr. Nina Nash-Robertson (CMU) passed away in 2018, but has made a lasting impact on her teaching.

Sarah’s choirs regularly perform and excel in Michigan Schools Vocal Music Association’s (MSVMA) Solo and Ensemble and Choral Festivals, and she currently serves as an Adjudicator and curriculum coordinator.  She has been a Summer Conference presenter and is currently the District 4 Manager.  Additionally, Mrs. Stockton was selected as the 2020 6-7-8 SA Honors Choir director for the Michigan Schools Vocal Music Association.  

Mrs. Stockton was also previously the Artistic Director for the New Century Chorale, an adult community choir in the Grand Blanc area from 2009-2018.  She served as a frequent soprano soloist and guest conductor in the Flint community, as well taught private voice and piano lessons.  

In 2018, Sarah was honored to become a choral staff member for the Michigan Ambassadors of Music.  She traveled to England, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Germany during the summer of 2019.  Mrs. Stockton was a 2016 and2017 Chairman’s Award Nominee for Educator of the Year by the Grand Blanc Chamber of Commerce, and was recently nominated for the 2021-2022 Michigan Teacher of the Year program. 

She resides in Farmington Hills with her husband, Josh and their son Everett. They have two dogs, Kofax and Peanut. In her free time, she enjoys creating resources for her Teachers Pay Teachers store, gardening, and crafting.