I started a new venture this year when a fully-online charter school opened here in North Carolina. I taught eighth-grade math, starting out with over 800 students. As new teachers were hired (starting a brand new school is challenging!), classes were rearranged. I ended the year with around 250 students, and I truly enjoyed our time in virtual classes together. They were so much fun!
I was unsure if this experience would be the right fit for me. I have so many private students, who are a top priority for me. However, the leadership, including principal Brittany Holland, was positive. My colleagues were also positive and collaborative. Even the challenges were often handled with laughter. Those people are my people–the ones who take things in stride and make it work for the students.
I was shocked when I was selected as the first teacher of the year for the school. What an honor! And how humbling as well.
Reading feedback from my colleagues brightened my whole day.
Lorie Bell- She always makes herself available to be the general ed teacher in my EC meetings, even though the students are not her own. I appreciate her help so much!
Lorie Bell. I chose Lorie because she always goes above and beyond to help her teammates. She has a lot on her plate, but she still offers her help and assistance whenever someone needs it.
Lorie Bell- Lorie is a once in a lifetime teacher, friend and colleague. Words cannot express how amazing of a person she is. However her skill as an educator can. Lorie is a passionate educator who takes her students to higher levels of learning then ever imagined for 8th graders. Her students growth has been exponential and the data proves that. What’s more incredible though, is her ability to light up a room of students and make math the best part of their day. I am truly honored to work with Lorie and I could not recommend her more highly for this award.
Lorie Bell. She does everything. Literally, she does EVERYTHING and knows EVERYTHING.
Lorie Bell is a go getter in and out of the classroom. She has a way of having high expectations for students while also creating a fun learning environment.
Lorie Bell. Lorie is always on top of things when it comes to knowing what’s going on with middle school. If you talk to her you can absolutely see why her students love her! She has a great sense of humor, always has resources to help out her fellow teachers when they have questions, and is always ready to jump in and help out wherever it’s needed. If you need someone with a great attitude and hilarious sweater, Lorie is your girl!
Wow! How sweet of them to take time to say these things about me.
I always appreciate feedback from students and their families, too. I especially appreciate it when it’s unexpected. The following email arrived unexpectedly in April from a sweet eighth-grade student.
Hey Mrs. Bell, I just wanted to say thank you for teaching me this year. Back when I was going to *redacted* middle, they didn’t teach us in a way that we all could learn. They would stress us out and make us feel like failures over the parts of math and ELA we didn’t understand yet. They would threaten us with “if you don’t pass this test (or assignments) all of my time has been wasted.” It was hard to learn with their ways but after starting k12 and having you as my teacher I have had huge growth. I’m able to understand what you are saying and get 80s, 90s, 100s on my tests without worrying if I’m failing other classes. But thank you for teaching me and you are the best math teacher I’ve had. I will miss you when I move and get into high school. Thank you for your time, have a good day and I’ll see you later. – Annabelle M
She didn’t have to take the time to send me this email, but it was so nice that she did.
I received a couple of Valentines Day messages from students this year as well.
I love teaching, and I love students and their families. Throw in some great colleagues, and I am so glad that I chose to try out this teaching position this year.
Now that the school is approaching its second year, I am keeping my eyes open for a leadership position within the school. I would love a chance to support teachers and students, perhaps through a coordinator or interventionist spot. However, I have enjoyed my job this year so much that I’m also hesitant to change anything. Isn’t that great? I’ m so blessed to be happy to do my job each day. What a privilege!
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