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Schools

Office Max Surprises Dearborn Teacher with Special Delivery

Becker teacher Diana Harb was the recipient of the office supply store's A Day Made Better program.

One Dearborn teacher received a $1,000 surprise on Tuesday, thanks to a teacher advocacy program at Office Max.

Diana Harb teaches kindergarten at Becker Elementary in Dearborn, and some staff—including Principal David Higgins and secretary Amira Kadiri—felt that she was doing an exemplary job. That's why they nominated Harb for Office Max's A Day Made Better.

Harb was one of 1,000 teachers across the country who were chosen by Office Max out of thousands of nominees to be rewarded for their extraordinary efforts in the classroom. Winners received $1,000 in school supplies for their classrooms, including arts and crafts, notebooks, and even cameras.

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When the found out Harb had won, Kadiri said, "It was so hard to keep it a secret."

The box of supplies was delivered to Harb's classroom Tuesday morning by employees from Dearborn's Office Max.

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"Every teacher deserves something extra," said Manager Leslie Montgomery, who also brought gift bags of supplies for Becker's other teachers. "It's just a nice touch."

Montgomery said she has visited several local classrooms since the program began in 2007.

A partnership between Office Max and AdoptAClassroom.org, A Day Made Better was designed "to help ease the financial burden for deserving teachers," according to Office Max.

Since its inception, A Day Made Better and other OfficeMax Goodworks programs have contributed more than $18 million in grants and supplies to support more than 29,000 teachers and their classrooms.

And for Harb, it was much more than just a good day.

"I was really surprised," she said of the honor. "You really made my whole year."

Learn more at ADayMadeBetter.com or adopt a teacher at AdoptAClassroom.org.

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