Content: 7th Grade Math
School: Gildersleeve Middle
Years Taught: 5

What do you love most about teaching?
What I love most about teaching is that I can see the investment I make in my students’ lives and the positive return it has on them, both academically and personally. More broadly, I see the individual investment as a positive impact on my school, community, state, and country.

What word best describes you as a teacher and why?
The word that best describes me as a teacher is relentless. Each day I owe it to my students to bring a high level of positive energy demonstrated through my lesson with intentionality, consistency, and engagement. Meeting students where they are and tracking their growth provides me with the confirmation that I have made a positive impact on their lives.

Content: Math 8 & Math Lead Teacher
School: Hines Middle
Years Taught: 26

What do you love most about teaching?
The part of teaching that I absolutely love is watching the students grow and succeed. The moment that the “lightbulb of learning" glows is magical. Being a part of students' growth is the most rewarding aspect of teaching.

Why do you love working in NNPS?
NNPS successfully supports teachers and students in various ways. Having worked in multiple localities in various states, I can truly say the support and resources are unmatched and appreciated.

Content: Math 7-8
School: Fitzgerald Middle
Years Taught: 11

What do you love most about teaching?
I love making relationships with kids in the classroom and getting students that never believed they were capable of success to become successful students. I’ve always thought the biggest job of a teacher, after building relationships, is to help students gain the confidence necessary to overcome obstacles. I’m honest with the kids. I tell them that while they may never need the Pythagorean Theorem or the ability to graph a function in the real world, they will absolutely need to learn the skill of overcoming a challenge and learning something new to become successful in life.

What word best describes you as a teacher and why?
Passionate! I have a much stronger passion for reaching children and teaching them as opposed to being passionate about “math topics.” I think a characteristic of a great educator is passion. My passion drives me to ensure students believe in themselves. I believe an obstacle to students’ math success is self-confidence as opposed to content knowledge. Hopefully when the students see my passion for them and belief in them, they are able to believe in themselves a little more.

Why do you love working in NNPS?
NNPS has a diverse group of students, educators, and leadership. The friendships and relationships I have cultivated with the staff members and students are ones that I will value for longer than my time as a teacher. I feel like I have a voice within the math department, and the Math Instructional Support Team (MIST) has included me in conversations about pacing, assessment making, strategies, and data.