Meet Mrs. Becky Manika, Principal, of Oakwood Elementary School

Mrs. Becky Manika is in her fourth year serving Oakwood Elementary School of Portland as school principal. Prior to coming to Portland, Mrs. Manika worked as a teacher in DeWitt and in Mt. Pleasant.

Mrs. Manika grew up in Webberville. She attended CMU where she received a bachelor degree in elementary education and a graduate degree in general administration with an educational administration endorsement.

Mrs. Manika thinks highly of Oakwood Elementary.

“Oakwood fosters learning, reading, and healthy relationships,” she said. “It builds these things into the skill sets of our student body. This is exemplified by the embrace of our administration and of our teaching staff of a special, national program called  ‘Capturing Students’ Hearts.’ It is a both a philosophy of education as well as a systematic educational program. We combine this philosophy with our Raider pride and we produce wonderful students at Oakwood who are equipped with effective problem-solving skills early in their lives. They also develop an attitude of kindness toward others which will serve them for the rest of their lives,” she explained.

Mrs. Manika feels proud of her students and of her teaching staff.

“They’ve all done a tremendous job,” she said. “Everyone has come together to create an effective learning atmosphere in our classrooms. The students’ positive attitude toward school has spilled over into the playground and into the hallways. This is producing students who love the learning process and who look forward to going to school.”

Mrs. Manika spoke enthusiastically of another program in place at the school. She calls this program by the name of “Links.”

“Once a month our general education students get together with our special education students,” she said. “They play games, they make crafts, and soon they will even be going bowling together. These activities improve the relationships that students have with each other. It helps students to feel accepted and it helps make school a fun experience for them. They look forward to going to school and they become engaged with school in a special way.”

Oakwood School also invites middle school students and high school students to visit Oakwood and to build friendships with the younger children.

“These friendships provide positive role models for the younger children,” said Mrs. Manika, “This is very important to the healthy development of the younger students.”

Mrs. Manika has plans for Oakwood that she feels will create an exciting future for the school.

“We will be providing more hands-on learning experiences for the students,” she said. “These experiences will include special field trips and it will involve partnering with other community members. We want to provide students with visits to the library, with time spent walking nature trails, and with trips to local businesses in order to familiarize students with the community and to show them what the community has to offer to them.”

But Mrs, Manika emphasizes that the most valuable gifts that the school can offer to students remain the teaching of relationship skills, of helping them to be good problem solvers, and most importantly of helping them to love learning itself.

“By giving students these experiences and by teaching them these skills they will be able to go out into the world and become successful,” she said. “They will share their love of learning with others and they will work with others to make the world a better place. This is the real value of a good early education and it is what we are dedicated to provide to students at Oakwood.”

Community members with questions for Mrs. Manika may reach her at (517) 647-2991.