Stephanie‘s philosophy about teaching is a simple but crucial one. She strives to embody the words of Maya Angelou who shared, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Making those connections to students and all people is what has led to Stephanie’s success as a classroom teacher, principal and church leader. As a believer in relationships, Stephanie realizes that today’s students face extreme challenges, therefore subject matter has to compete with the drama of daily life. As such, she has developed and implemented programs and activities that address these struggles. She recognizes team building and staff morale as absolute components to school success and has experienced the power of these connections first-hand. As a spiritual leader and church educator, she presents information to assist families with the challenging topics of today.

“It takes a village …”. We’ve heard this proverb and absolutely believe in these family/community connections as we maintain children as our focus. The power of collaboration is essential since we know that “None of us is as smart as all of us.”
Madeline Hunter emphasized that, “Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!” As educators we must work towards reaching them on that “human” level. Often, subject matter can’t compete with the “drama” in student’s lives. The main ingredient missing in a lot of our classrooms today is a “connection with kids.” Research is clear, when students know you value them as a human being and not just another student; they will work harder for you and challenge you less. Educators have the toughest job in America and don’t need more theory or new, trendy programs with catchy names, but instead strategies that capitalize on human potential. They need to be given research-based, proven, practical applications that can be implemented immediately – without eliminating methods that are currently working. Students come into our classrooms with different backgrounds, cultures, cognitive abilities, assets and experiences and often have little in common other than their age.  The “one size fits all” approach does not work.

One of the biggest unchallenged assumptions today regarding education is that kids are coming to school willing and ready to learn. As educators, we know this is not the case. We have a generation of kids coming to our schools basically un-socialized. Missed socialization and instruction as a result of COVID-19 has made the challenge greater still. Students have missed out on opportunities academically, behaviorally and socially. They come to school with learned behaviors from TV shows, video games, social media and a myriad of other influences.

Educators may not have as much impact from 4:00 PM until 8:00 AM but there is much that can be done when students are in our scope of influence. Stephanie is dedicated to helping educators be successful through motivation, inspiration, humor and a common-sense approach to classroom practices. Most importantly, she provides proven, practical strategies that can implemented immediately.
School employees are having an incredible impact on students every day. Those extra special moments are led by enthusiastic, well-prepared, and loving educators.