April 4, 2019
Kindergarten teacher Amanda Summers earns Poplar Bluff R-1's top honor
According to a Japanese proverb, “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher.” Reviewing facts will only get a student so far and connections made with teachers can provide more lessons than some textbooks. The Poplar Bluff R-1 School District celebrated 10 outstanding teachers from across all the campuses during its annual Teacher of the Year Luncheon as Amanda Summers was honored as District Teacher of the Year...
According to a Japanese proverb, “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher.”
Reviewing facts will only get a student so far and connections made with teachers can provide more lessons than some textbooks.
The Poplar Bluff R-1 School District celebrated 10 outstanding teachers from across all the campuses during its annual Teacher of the Year Luncheon as Amanda Summers was honored as District Teacher of the Year.
“Her dedication to our students goes above and beyond,” said Kindergarten Center Principal Jessica Thurston.
When first told she received the honor, Thurston said Summers simply replied in regards to her teaching duties, “I do this every day and don’t need a big thing.”
One of the most important tools Summers uses to reach her students is building a personal relationship with them, said fellow Kindergarten teachers Tanya Pullum and Shelly Johnson, who nominated her for the honor.
“You will find her greeting each student in the morning with a greeting of their choice, sharing good things in the classroom and connecting with them every day,” the teachers said. “She is always ready to praise a good choice made by her students and offer words of encouragement or strategies to help when they struggle.”
Summers, who also was named Kindergarten Center and Elementary grade-span Teacher of the Year, is known to be a teacher who puts her students first. She can often be found at the school during the evenings and weekends putting forth extra effort and care into her lessons.
“I think she uses the perfect combination of gentleness and encouragement that my son needs to be able to thrive at school,” one parent said of Summers.
Another parent, Kristin Brooks, whose three children have been in Summers’ kindergarten class, said she was “so patient with me and all my crazy questions.”
“Mrs. Summers is an amazing teacher and fights hard for her kids to have what they need to be successful learners,” Brooks said. “She cares about their academic achievement, but she also cares about their emotional and social development. She works hard to find what each student needs to learn and live up to their potential.”
While it’s obvious Summers’ current students love all the creative lessons she plans for them, former students still recall time with her.
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“Mrs. Summers saw something in me that I never saw in myself and pushed me to make bigger goals in life,” former student Alexis Richardson said. “She was not just a wonderful teacher of mine, but also my friend.”
Former student Alyssa Bubanovich, who had Summers in second grade 13 years ago, said she still maintains a relationship with her former teacher.
“A teacher that made such an impact on that 7-year-old second grader is one that is special,” she said. “Finding out she was Kindergarten Teacher of the Year melted my heart as I knew she was such a deserving person of such an honor.”
Summers has been with the Poplar Bluff R-1 School District since 2006 and began at the Kindergarten Center in 2012.
She earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary and early childhood education from Southeast Missouri State University in 2006. Summers then earned a Masters in elementary administration from William Woods University in 2010.
Summers and her husband, Brent, have two boys, Blaine and Baylen. They keep busy with their sporting and school events around town in addition to being active at Fellowship General Baptist Church, selling Scentsy and continuing to earn different certifications.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be nominated by your peers and receive this award in recognition of all the amazing things you have done, not only this year, but every year throughout your career,” Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill said to the group of honorees.
Teachers of the Year are nominated by their peers to a committee who reviews recommendations and affirmation letters from colleagues, students and parents.
“We are appreciative of the work you do and the impact that it makes on the lives of our kids,” Dill added. “You change lives every single day and you create the future every single day in your classrooms.”
Teacher of the Year winners include Meg Daniels, Secondary grade-span and PBHS; Britney Stahl, PBJHS; James Hunt, Middle grade-span and Middle School; Denni White, Technical Career Center; Traci Durham-Allen, Early Childhood Center; Jennifer Morin, Eugene Field; Kasi Aldridge, Lake Road; Becky Ingle, Oak Grove; and Christie Risinger, O’Neal.
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Stories featuring individual nominees will appear in future editions of the Daily American Republic.
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