This month, we’re proud to recognize the hard work of one of our amazing Phoenix Academy teachers – Amy Lucas. Ms. Lucas has been teaching for ten years, and five of those have been at the Phoenix Academy. This year, she’s teaching sixth and seventh graders!
We took a moment to chat with Ms. Lucas about her time at Phoenix Academy and what’s going on in her classroom this month.
What’s your favorite thing about teaching at the Phoenix Academy?
My favorite thing is just knowing every kid here – knowing them by name, who their siblings are, who their parents are. It’s such a small building, and it really has a family feel. Everybody really does care about each other.
What excites you about teaching?
My favorite thing is when I see that lightbulb click for students. Last year, when my students took the MAP test, there was a lot of room for growth, so I really focused on teaching the specific skills I knew they would need. The next time they took the test, they said, “Ms. Lucas, we knew this. You just taught this!” You could see how excited and confident they were!
I also love how it changes every day. I still get really excited when I learn new teaching techniques – it really inspires me. I definitely feel like this is my calling, because I love everything about it!
What’s something new you’re doing in your classroom this year?
This year I’m really emphasizing the importance of procedures in my classroom. We really talked about them from day one, and we played a game so the students learned what to do and what the expectations are. I feel like it’s really made a difference in the classroom because they learned the routine super quickly.
I also started out having “assistants” in my classroom. If students didn’t hear or understand something, they can go to one of their peers. For example, one of my students is the “computer expert.” It’s going really smoothly!
This year, I’m also giving my students more options – options on how they want to study their spelling words or how to do their reading homework. I think they really like that!
Thank you, Ms. Lucas, for all you do for Phoenix Academy students!