Roxie R. Ahlbrecht
South Dakota Teacher of the Year
Robert Frost Elementary, Sioux Falls, SD
Grade 2, all subjects

My teaching philosophy
Teaching is the most important profession I could possibly have. My methods, strategies, and ideas impact the climate of my classroom and the attitude of the children. I believe education needs to be fun, purposeful, and delivered in an engaging manner so that students are excited and willing to do more.

My philosophy in action
I believe in meeting the students at their level and building on what they already know. To accomplish this, I do informal assessments and plan my instruction from the information I gather. There is so much out there, it is redundant to have students sit through lessons they don't need, so I plan alternative activities to move their learning forward. In addition, students have varying learning styles, so the delivery model I implement needs to somehow take into account the differing modalities. Basically, it comes down to efficiently teaching to each and every child's preferred learning style in the realm of a whole classroom. It is a juggling act.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
Achieving National Board Certification 2001 Middle Childhood Generalist.

The most critical issue facing educators today
Teacher retention and teacher recruitment are critical issues.

Ways to resolve this issue
Recruiting new teachers to the profession will help replace those retiring. New teachers need a strong professional development program as they begin, along with a mentor to support their efforts. Collaboration between teachers improves the practice of everyone involved. Learning is a life-long process and shouldn't stop with the degree. We need to connect and learn from each other. Working closely with the education departments in our colleges is one strategy I hope to implement this year. I am also working to recruit candidates for the National Board Certification process.

One thought to inspire other teachers to succeed
As a teacher, you are the most critical variable in the learning process. Your attitude and outlook impact what is learned and modeled in your classroom. Be willing to take risks and be ready to learn from the experience.

One lesson every student should learn
Every student should learn they can succeed and do almost anything they want if they persevere and walk towards their goal, one step at a time.

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