NEWS

Portland teacher, students get 'Today Show' makeovers

Rachel Greco
Lansing State Journal

PORTLAND - Amanda Cornwell's four-and-a-half minutes of television fame came with a trip to New York, a new look and a donation to fund supplies for her Portland Middle School classroom. It started simply, and suddenly, with what she called "a cold call."

Portland Middle School teacher Amanda Cornwell teaches an English class on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. Cornwell got made over on the Today Show this week.

Cornwell was just a few weeks away from welcoming students back to her seventh-grade classroom on Wednesday, where she's taught English for the past 10 years.

She was finishing dinner with her husband Garth, who's also a teacher at Portland Middle School, and their two children, ages 8 and 9, when the phone rang.

The caller said they were from NBC's "The Today Show." At first, Cornwell didn't believe it.

"I thought it was a scam," she said.

It wasn't. The producer told Cornwell they'd found her through Adopt a Classroom, an online crowdfunding site utilized by teachers around the country. Cornwell established a donation page there eight years ago, but had only ever raised about $300 to fund class supplies she normally pays for out-of-pocket.

They chatted for 20 minutes about teaching, why she chose the profession and her personal style, something Cornwell admits she'd never really thought about.

Would she consider coming to New York for a "back-to-school" makeover segment? the producer asked.

Cornwell said she would.

"The way I looked at it was, 'I'll take all the help I can get.'"

But after hanging up said she never thought she'd hear back from the show again.

She was wrong.

Deserving teacher

Cornwell spent three days in New York this week, appearing on a live segment of "The Today Show" that aired Tuesday morning with hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb and stylist Brittney Levine.

From left to right, Stylist Brittany Levine, Today Show host Kathy Lee Gifford, Portland Middle School student Cade Vallier, Portland teacher Amanda Cornwell, Today Show host Hoda Kotb and Portland student Ruthie Fedewa on the set in New York on Tuesday.

She left with a new outfit — complete with black pants, strapped heels and a blazer — and with a promised donation from Kohl's, a "Today Show" sponsor, that will help pay for needed classroom items and provide back-to-school shopping gift cards to all of her 150 students. Kohl's is expected to make the undetermined donation online through Cornwell's Adopt a Classroom page.

"Surreal" is how Cornwell described the experience.

"I kept thinking, 'Things like this don't really happen,'" she said. Not to her, anyway, she added.

But people who've witnessed Cornwell with her students said she wholeheartedly deserves the attention.

Portland Middle School Principal Ken Robydek said there are many dedicated teachers in his school, but Cornwell is "in the top tier."

Two years ago she organized a canoe trip down the Grand River for about 140 students, he said. The day-long outing was aimed at helping them to have a new experience.

"She got parent volunteers," Robydek said. "She got the kids interested. She just felt like a lot of kids weren't aware of the area, so she wanted to expose them to that. It was a full day for her. We took three different groups of kids on the river."

Robydek said Cornwell's energy made the day a success. When he heard about the makeover he was "floored" and happy for her.

"She deserves it," he said. "She's very caring. She just shows an amazing ability to connect with our students."

Extraordinary start to the school year

Jen Vallier said her son Cade, 13, is one of the students Cornwell has impacted.

Portland Middle School teacher Amanda Cornwell teaches an English class on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. Cornwell got made over on the Today Show this week.

He and Cornwell share a mutual love of books and writing, she said. Last year when he struggled to find more advanced titles to read that were still age appropriate, Cornwell helped him find some.

"She's always willing to help students and she really instilled in him the love of reading," Vallier said.

So when "Today Show" producers called her and asked if Cade would come to New York for Cornwell's makeover segment she didn't hesitate.

Cade and fellow Portland student Ruthie Fedewa surprised Cornwell on the New York set during the taping, decked out in their own new outfits.

"I was so nervous," Cornwell said. "When I saw them I would have jumped up and down but I thought I might fall down on that slippery floor."

After the segment was over Vallier and Cade did a little sightseeing with Cornwell.

For the first day of classes on Wednesday Cornwell said she did change up the outfit selected for her, swapping the pants for jeans and pairing the blazer with an "I love New York" T-shirt.

She says the experience was memorable, but any of her co-workers could have taken her place and been just as deserving.

"There are so many family members and friends of mine who are teachers who deserve this and more," she said. "It's been an extraordinary and odd start to the year."

Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ. 

See the video

You can watch Portland Middle School teacher Amanda Cornwell's Tuesday appearance on NBC's "The Today Show" online at http://www.today.com/video/watch-deserving-teacher-get-new-wardrobe-surprise-donation-749113923851.