Model Teachers: 5th Grade

Grade: 5th Grade
School: Sanford Elementary
Years Taught: 4

What do you most love about teaching?
The most rewarding part of teaching is establishing relationships with the students to help make them feel confident in areas that are a challenge and comfortable in subject areas that are unknown. It is incredible to see students come together as one with a common goal in the classroom to improve themselves and the others around them through a strong community.

What makes NNPS a great school division?
There are always great opportunities to improve as a teacher in Newport News. There are many different support systems in place both at your individual school level and at the district level. So many people in this school division want teachers to succeed and will do almost anything to back them up in the classroom. I have been able to see growth and change in so many ways through my years teaching. It's important to work in a system where everyone believes in you and wants to see you achieve.

What is the best way to describe your classroom on a typical day?
I am an extremely consistent and transparent teacher, and I strongly believe in having an open relationship with the students where they can ask questions about what we are doing and why it is important. In a typical day we start with our morning meeting being led by a student. Throughout the day, we actively learn in all of our content areas. Also, I always read books aloud to my students that allow us to discuss a variety of topics. At the end of the day, we take care of the classroom together.

Grade: 5th Grade
School: Carver Elementary
Years Taught: 24

What do you most love about teaching?
The thing I love the most about teaching is when I see my students enjoy learning and sharing it with someone else.

Why are you passionate about supporting fellow teachers?
I think educators should share knowledge with one another because knowledge and wisdom is not just for ourselves. We should share so that great things happening can spread out to as many students as possible. Great teachers are great because they observe greatness, practice greatness, study greatness, and want to be part of greatness. Great teachers continue to be great because they keep an open mind and a teachable spirit.

What two words best describe you as a teacher?
Two words to describe me would be compassionate collaborator. I chose these two words because I believe educators need to show compassion in order to encourage, inspire, and teach students to be successful. I chose collaborator because we have to work as a unit and not as an individual to meet the diverse needs of each student.

Grade: 5th Grade
School: Lee Hall Elementary
Years Taught: 4

What do you most love about teaching?
What I love most about teaching is the relationships I am able to build with students. I love knowing I can make a difference and help students grow, whether it be academically or socially.

Why are you passionate about supporting fellow teachers?
Just as students learn from others around them, I feel the same is true with teachers. In my first few years of teaching, my administrators allowed me to observe various teachers in the building and I was able to learn strategies that engaged students during instruction, observe ways to handle various behaviors, and collaborate with other teachers.  Through the interaction I had with these teachers, I was able to refine my craft. I want to support other teachers with what I have learned through my experiences and the knowledge that has been shared with me.

What is the best way to describe your classroom on a typical day?
We are one big family! We face and solve problems together, we support each other, and everyone has a role to play.