- April 19, 2024
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Plenty of kids have trouble with math. So when a student tells Wadsworth Elementary School teacher Carrie Harris that she’s made the subject “easy,” she knows she’s doing something right, and it inspires her to keep working hard to make a difference, she wrote in her Teacher of the Year statement.
"I remind them over and over that math is a skill that requires work and practice like learning a new sport. We talk about how making mistakes is a natural way of learning, and I encourage my students to own their mistakes and learn from them."
— CARRIE HARRIS
“I just want my students to learn to love math the way I have grown to love math,” she wrote. “... If you have ever seen a student’s eyes light up in understanding, then you know ... the feeling of inspiration in the teaching field.”
In her science classes, she also reinforces reading.
Before the first day of school each year, Harris has already done her homework: She keeps a binder with data on her students, and puts the information into a spreadsheet.
“Getting this visual picture of each student helps in my endeavor to build a relationship with each student and fulfill his or her needs outside of the content area,” she wrote.
In addition to earning the highly-effective designation, Harris has been rated as a high-impact teacher for three years.
She mentors students, and created a four-day-a-week tutoring program for students who are close to the “proficient” level 3 rating on the FSA, or at risk of sliding back a level.
