2001 Missouri Teacher of the Year
Ms. Maxwell teaches Accelerated Math, Math 7 and Language Arts to the grade seven students at Pattonville Heights Middle School in Maryland Heights, Missouri. She has been teaching for eight years.

What are your beliefs about teaching?
"I believe that all students can learn and that all students are to be provided with a quality educational experience. My goal is to find each student's unique strengths and build upon them. Students need to discover that learning is an enjoyable experience."

How are your beliefs incorporated in your teaching style?
"I focus on motivating my students on the basis of their needs and interests. Staying in tune with the pop culture of today allows me to develop a rapport with my students. It is common to hear current pop music playing during the students' work sessions in my classroom. Drawing connections between mathematics and other aspects of my students' lives and experiences makes learning worthwhile and fun for them."

What is your greatest teaching accomplishment?
"My greatest accomplishments occur when I am able to allow each of my students to take part and be successful in the learning process."

What's the most critical issue facing educators today and what do you think can be done to resolve this issue?
"The issue of literacy is a top priority for all educators today. We must accept the importance of this issue and address our students' reading ability as a community. Schools need the help of parents, businesses and community volunteers. Funding is required to develop these programs. If we address this educational problem as a community, we succeed in increasing the reading achievement of our students."

Inspirational thought:
"I believe that teaching is the heart of education. Therefore, as a professional educator, I want the teaching profession to be the best it can be. To develop a more effective teaching profession, teachers must take it upon themselves to establish high and rigorous standards for the profession. Through staff development, analysis of practice and reflection, teachers will improve their own teaching abilities as well as raise the standard of professionalism in teaching."