August National Teacher of the Month

“Teachers, I believe, are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the Earth.” – Helen Caldicott

The process of choosing just one teacher each month is beyond difficult, but we are pleased to announce that our 2020 August National Teacher of the Month is Ms. Stephanie of Little Sunshine’s Playhouse and Preschool of Chesterfield.

Ms. Stephanie has been a part of team Chesterfield since the beginning of opening our school and has continued to shine positively throughout her tenure! Upon opening, once several families learned of Ms. Stephanie being their child’s teachers, many would say, “No need to say any more – I’m ready to enroll!” due to Ms. Stephanie being their child’s teacher at a previous center. Ms. Stephanie has proven to be a team player, often jumping in where needed, coming in early, staying late, and helping out in any way she can. We’ve also witnessed much growth in Stephanie, both professionally and personally. Her students get extremely excited to see her…one student, in particular, BEGGING their parents to bring them to school just to hug Ms. Stephanie. For these reasons, we wish to nominate Ms. Stephanie as National Teacher of the Month!

Here is some fun information about her and what makes her such a standout!

What age group do you teach?
Preschool

What is the name of your classroom?
Land of Oz

What do you love most about the age group you teach?
I absolutely love watching them develop their own unique personalities and skills that will help them throughout their lives.

What is your favorite curriculum project you’ve ever done in your classroom?
I have two! We made a huge Reggio–inspired football field as a group with different colored and shaped paper and tissue paper. I also loved helping them make our “handprints around the world” project. It just turned out so cute!

What do you enjoy most about working for LSP?
The staff at LSP Chesterfield is just incredible. This has been such a tough year due to the pandemic and the leadership staff are all so caring and supportive! I also love being able to come to work and hang out with a bunch of little humans who are SO MUCH FUN.

Who and/or what inspires you?
My students definitely inspire me to be the teacher they need. I also grew up struggling with severe ADHD and dyslexia so I understand how hard school can be (even for a sweet little 3-year-old) and I want to be able to help the kids that struggle.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love to Garden (mostly indoor plants), watch hockey, craft and do makeup. I also love traveling, mainly to California.

Tell us one special fact about yourself that no one would expect.
I used to ride horses competitively. I’ve jumped over 4 ft on my horse and did it for most of my childhood until I hurt my back. I was 7th in our region for my division

We also want to say congratulations to all the nominees who are listed below. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication!

Lupe C. – Alpharetta

Hayden Y. – Broomfield

Savannah C. – Colorado Springs

Alaa A.– Four Points

Abby T. – Franklin

Cathy S. – Gilbert – Val Vista

Ameerah E. – Gilbert – Higley

Taisiya L. – Granite Bay

Grace C. – Lakeway

Brittany A. – Leawood

Heather C. – Littleton

Kristin M. – O’Fallon

Ashley T. – Overland Park

Cyria C. – Ozark

Cassie B. – Rogers

Amy M. – San Antonio – Dominion

Esjade W. – San Antonio – Stone Oak

Dawn P. – Scottsdale

Nicole B. – Southlake

Kiley M. – Springfield I

Elizabeth C. – Springfield II

Nayarith S. – Springfield III

Shakiela W. – University City

Heyley F. – The Woodlands

Valerie H. – Willowbrook