Lee-Ann Stephens
Minnesota Teacher of the Year
Park Spanish Immersion, St. Louis Park
Grades 5 and 6, English Language Arts

My teaching philosophy
Someone asked me what would be the last thing that I would give up in regard to teaching. I told that person that the last thing that I would give up is building relationships with my students. Teaching isn’t just about imparting academic knowledge to my students. It is also about caring whether or not they are happy or sad on any given day. It is letting them know that I believe in them, even when they do not believe in themselves. It is about visiting them at home when they or one of their parents are ill. It is about encouraging them when they didn’t earn the grade that they were hoping for and giving the opportunity to improve. It is about spending some of my duty free lunch periods to eat with them and enjoy recess with them. It is about attending a dance recital, a music recital, a football game, or a soccer game. It is about a phone call telling the parents and the students how glad I am to have them in my class. It is about letting them know that I learn from them just as they learn from me.

It is about looking for talents and gifts in each student and helping to cultivate those gifts. Teaching is about giving them skills that will help them make it through the day or the week, or even the rest of their lives. It is about taking their hands and letting them know that we are in this together.

My philosophy in action
I make connections and build relationships on a daily. My lessons are delivered with love, humor and enthusiasm. I expect a great deal from my students, but I am there to help them every step of the way.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
One of my greatest teaching accomplishments is having a former first grade student follow in my footsteps. She said that she knew that she wanted to be a teacher just like me since first grade. She is now teaching. She is inspiring others as I inspired her. What an honor!

The most critical issues facing educators today
The most critical issue facing educators today is that of the racial achievement gap. We have a group of our student population that is falling through the cracks and that breaks my heart.

Ways to resolve this issue
I believe that we can close the gap. It will take much effort, but it can be done. The level of expectations that a teacher holds for each student is extremely significant. What a teacher expects, a teacher gets. If we expect less from our black and Latino students than we do from their white counterparts, then we will receive less. Other ways to resolve this issue is to have aggressive principals in low performing schools who are willing to effectively lead instruction. We need to educate our teachers on how to instruct underserved populations and the importance of building relationships with all students. We need to develop relationships with families. We also need to recognize that these students need ongoing academic intervention, which may mean that we have to provide after school sessions and summer sessions that last longer than six weeks. Our minority students need to see themselves reflected in the school’s faculty. How can we tell them that they can be anything that they want to be with an education when we don’t reflect this diversity among our staff?

By the year 2050, it is projected that the majority of our population will be non-white people. The wellbeing of our economical environment rests upon making sure that our children of all colours are educated. It is in the best interest of us all to do all that we can to close, even eliminate the achievement gap.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
Know that we are part of a noble profession. We are the foundation upon which other careers are built. Doctors, lawyers, nurses, accountants, can all thank us for helping them on their educational journey.

One lesson every student should learn
Every student should learn that no matter where they go in life, no one can take their knowledge from them.

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