Second Grade Teacher & Elementary Technology Educator
Auburn Hills Christian School

Kristin Griffith has been an educator at Auburn Hills Christian School for 10 years. She has made it her personal mission to bring STEM learning opportunities to students. In 2012, she began using her planning periods to teach classes where students can learn computer coding, typing and office software skills. She added after school clubs including robotics, coding and videography.

In 2015, after noticing how many of her students needed learning accommodations and how many spent time in the latchkey program, she began using flexible seating in her classroom. The scores of her students increased exponentially once they were in charge of their own learning and they had "ditched the desk," opting for yoga balls, a couch or upholstered armchairs instead.

In 2016, AHCS became STEM-certified through STEM.org due to Kristin's efforts. This came after her second-graders completed a yearlong STEM project and created a full-sized fort modeled after the homes of Native American tribes and integrating science concepts they had learned: using gravity to siphon water from a nearby stream to create running water, as well as building a bridge and diverting a stream when spring rains caused flooding.

Kristin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Oakland University, where she and her husband now lead AC Oakland, a campus of their church specifically for OU students. In her free time, she devotes all of her efforts to her church, The Apostolic Church of Auburn Hills.

The information presented here was accurate as of January 1, 2017.