by Finley Fallstrom, Bailey Matteson and Kaitley Petersen
A teacher that does it all- yep, that’s Mrs. Edwards for you! She truly provides support for everyone on campus. From being our school’s instructional specialist to teaching the CTE course Education Professions, to taking on its corresponding FCCLA organization to sponsoring Book Club and ASL, she truly pours her heart into all that she does. Mrs. Edwards has blessed our campus with her presence for 9 years. Within those nine years, she has selflessly helped students learn to discover a love for math, she’s taken on teaching a new course (Education Professions), and she’s stepped into a new leadership role as our school’s instructional specialist. If you’re looking for a book-reading, penguin-loving, warm-hearted teacher, look no further! Mrs. Edwards leads her students with a heart of gold, even if she’s got a self-proclaimed “Dory Brain.”
Mrs. Edwards’ passion lies in helping our future teachers and the current teachers around us. The first step to Mrs. Edwards’ effectiveness as an instructional specialist is to work with the newest hired teachers.
“My first biggest priority is our new staff,” Mrs. Edwards said. “At the beginning of the school year, I lead the new teacher induction, and so I am our new staff's go-to person. It doesn't matter if they've been teaching for 20 years or if they're brand new to teaching or if they're a counselor or our character coach and ISS teacher, anybody that is new to our district or our school comes in and I do a whole training with them first.”
Mrs. Edwards starts working with new teachers at Spark training and then observes them in their classrooms and has a conference with them discussing their practices.
“I do not evaluate - I’m not an evaluator - but I observe them,” Mrs. Edwards said. “And we do many conferences with them, and it's basically focusing on instructional practices. I make sure that they're acclimating to our school well, that they feel welcome and loved.”
In addition to Spark training, she also leads the entire staff through a program called Prep Connect. In Prep Connect, she applies a concept from Spark training, such as student engagement, and she leads a lesson to the entire staff on how to apply this best practice in their classroom. Overall, as our instructional specialist, she helps our campus’s new teachers acclimate in their first year as well as develop returning teachers’ strategies and teaching methods.
Mrs. Edwards does not only have influence on our school’s current teachers, but she also has influence with the future teachers. She's in charge of our school's Education Professions class. In this program, she builds our future teachers by teaching them the history of education, the psychology behind child development, and instilling a drive within them to effectively manage their own future classrooms.
“I love teaching, I would say, the foundations of child development,” Mrs. Edwards said. “I think it’s the most fun to teach because it really is eye-opening for the kids to really understand that little kids learn differently than bigger kids and things like that. But it's when the kids actually get to start teaching and applying stuff is my happy place.”
Growing up, teaching wasn’t the first career choice on Mrs. Edwards’ mind. She learned sign language in third grade and instantly fell in love with the idea of becoming an interpreter.
“I thought it was so cool.” Mrs. Edwards stated. “Then, in high school, I took sign language for four years and that was my passion. I just love sign language. I loved learning about the deaf community.”
She carried this passion into her studies after high school at Kutztown University, where she majored in American Sign Language, following her passion and dream of becoming an interpreter. As Mrs. Edwards was earning her degree, Kutztown University had to cut the program. So, she decided to call upon her other passions of math and helping others. In high school, Mrs. Edwards learned that she had a love for education and math. The story all began with her experiences in Calculus.
She convinced a friend to take Calculus with her and also got that friend through Calculus. The concepts came naturally to Mrs. Edwards, so she used her strength to help teach the concepts to her best friend. Little did she know the impact her strengths would have on others. Sooner or later, other people wanted her help. Her success with helping others learn allowed her to tap into her passion for teaching. All it took was a few words to inspire her.
“Somebody one time was like, ‘you'd be a really good teacher,’ and I really liked math,” Mrs. Edwards said. “So I was like, okay, I guess, you know, that's something I'll pursue.”
Even though her original plans of pursuing ASL didn’t work out, she was able to find fulfillment in changing her major to education. After this, she began teaching in Pennsylvania in 2006. She experimented with teaching elementary school and middle school before finally settling here at Estrella Foothills. She taught 7th graders in Pennsylvania and Levine**, 1st graders in Florida, and 8th graders in Litchfield Park before making it to Estrella. With all this experience, some of her teaching philosophy has stayed the same and other parts have changed. Throughout her career, she continued to value interactive, hands-on, and reflective learning. The biggest part of her teaching that has changed is her connection with technology. Mrs. Edwards has worked with a traditional blackboard, an overhead projector, and Smartboard. She’s quite the expert when applying technology strategies to her teaching methods.
Even though Mrs. Edwards is extremely good at her job, there are challenges when it comes to her responsibilities.
“As a teacher, they say don't take your work home. It's easier said than done,” Mrs. Edwards said. “My biggest challenge is actually separating my work and my home life.”
She is constantly working to grow a healthy balance between being dedicated to her students and enjoying time with her family. Even though this is a challenge, she finds joy in helping others. She loves to serve her students, make people feel welcome on campus, and she loves helping teachers learn new strategies. Can being a teacher be difficult? Yes! But is it worth it? Absolutely!!!
Mrs. Edwards is EFHS’s lovable instructional specialist. She holds her first period class in Miss Fox’s room (room 627). Mrs. Edwards is a teacher not just to the kids who want to learn how to become one but to her fellow teachers as well. Mrs. Edwards is funny, kind, and selfless. If you're someone who wants to be a teacher, whether you’re in her class or not, Mrs. Edwards will show you how to embrace the world of education. In addition, fellow teachers at EFHS can always look to her to help guide them. This lovable teacher is one you’ll most likely see all over the place. She’s always helping teachers and kids who are eager to learn what she has to offer. This teacher is pretty amazing. She’s not someone you just want to meet, she’s someone you need to meet!