Congratulations to our March Teacher of the Month, Mrs. Susanne Reed! Mrs. Reed is a first-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School in Berkeley.
We heard from so many parents, and several of Mrs. Reed’s students, about the many ways in which Mrs. Reed makes writing joyful, fun, and rigorous. 826 Valencia salutes Mrs. Reed’s commitment to making writing exciting and accessible for all of her students!
As one parent said, “Mrs. Reed’s writing philosophy can be summed up by one of the many colorful and engaging displays on the walls of her classroom: ‘We are writers.’ With these words, Mrs. Reed creates a community of writers that includes herself and all of her students.” Mrs. Reed leads by example, teaching her students that writing is about incorporating parts of yourself into the work that you do. She also makes writing joyful and fun, which gives her students the confidence to keep writing. Mrs. Reed’s students love to write and feel like they can write anytime. One parent notes that “[My son] cannot wait to walk into her room every morning, especially to delve into his daily writing journal.” As one of her students said, “Mrs. Reed taught us how to make books that teach people how to do things. It makes me feel happy.” Way to go, Mrs. Reed!
Ms. Reed does an especially amazing job of supporting all of her students. She uses a user-friendly, multi-step writing process to help her students understand the writing process. One of her students described it like this: “First she has us combine all or ideas into a Big Idea, then draw a picture, then write all our words…the second day we just get to keep writing what it’s all about.” As one parent pointed out, this method of teaching writing has helped her child see the world in a much more descriptive way.
Finally, we were excited to hear that Mrs. Reed hosts a publication party to celebrate her students’ writing with their families! Students revised and edited one of the numerous stories they had written that semester. After illustrating, adding “About the Author pages,” and penning dedications, students published their very own stories! We love seeing that 826 spirit of amplifying student voice in the world! Everyone was so proud of the level of student writing; one parent said, “Everyone was so blown away by the quality of writing that our kids had collectively produced…as well as the creative energy buzzing in the room.” Thank you, Mrs. Reed, for helping your young students fall in love with writing. Keep up the fantastic work!
Read more about our Teacher of the Month program.