Email nominations to Anthony Zilis at azilis@news-gazette.com
In her third year as Prairieview-Ogden South Elementary’s reading and math interventionist, Tressica Jeffers is already making an impact. What she enjoys most, though, isn’t necessarily teaching her students. It’s giving them a place where they can feel safe and heard.
I find my work important because ... children are our future, and I have a small part in guiding them down a positive, bright path. Every day, I’m able to assist children with their critical-thinking skills and creativity and watch a love for learning blossom in the most unique ways.
I became a teacher because ... every child deserves the opportunity to learn and feel loved. I never feel like I’m walking into a job. Every day that I walk into my classroom, it’s a new day to bring new possibilities to every student, new ways to strike their interests, and new ways to let every child know they are our future, and their future is oh so bright.
My favorite or most unique lesson that I teach ... has little to do with academics. I love when students come into my room as a safe place. A place to talk about their feelings and emotions, and just let it all out. We talk about life decisions that go beyond a textbook. My students have no idea how much I need those talks as an adult just as much as they need them as children.
My most fulfilling moments on the job are when ... something clicks with a student who has been struggling. The expressions on their faces when they understand something that has created such a challenge in their life is so worth it. And I love all the extra hugs and high-fives that come along with it!
I keep my students engaged by ... creating games and activities. I’m a sucker for hands-on learning. I strongly believe no child learns the same way, and creating games to make a lesson more fun is worth every minute it takes.
Something else I’m passionate about is ... traveling. I thoroughly believe you learn just as much outside a classroom as you do in it. I am an avid traveler with my husband and two kids and make every trip a learning experience for the whole family.
My favorite teacher and subject to study in school was ... my fourth-grade teacher, Lesliea Palmer. I had just switched to a new school where I did not know any of the students or staff. She was the smile I needed to see come through the door every morning to help me adjust and be the best version of myself during the school day.
If I weren’t a teacher, I would be ... a professional sports mascot! There’s just something about putting on a silly costume to entertain a crowd that has always enticed me!
— ANTHONY ZILIS