Lookout Valley Elementary Teacher Keeps Her 2nd Graders Active While They Learn

It takes a special person to keep a room full of 7 and 8 year olds attentive and learning.

At Lookout Valley Elementary, Mandy Carter's 2nd graders not only learn the lesson, they have fun doing it...

She's this week's Golden Apple Award Winner...

The well-behaved group of kids in Mandy Carter's classroom is not the exception...it's the norm for the 2nd grade teacher.

For eight years she's taught classrooms of elementary students, using hands on activities to keep them entertained while learning, "I can't sit still. I can't expect them to sit still. We move, we always move."

All day long these students move from one learning station to the next.

Each section focuses on a different part of the lesson.

Parent Donna Steele says Ms. Carter's teaching method keeps every child involved, "It breaks their day up so much and makes it such a fun time to learn."

Steele's Golden Apple nomination letter reads, "(Ms. Carter) encourages them to do their very best at all times and believes in each child."

Plus, Steele says, the kids absolutely love Ms. Carter...

Steele's daughter Natalie says of Ms. Carter, "Because she's really nice and I've had her for two years."

That's right... Ms. Carter had almost all these children last year in the 1st grade.

It's a practice called "looping" where a teacher gets to know the students and follows them through critical years in school.

Steele says it was ideal for Natalie, "She knew what to expect her second year coming in and it just made it an easy transition from 1st to 2nd grade."

Ms. Carter says it works because her kids already know the routine, and they pick right back up when the new year starts.

For Ms. Carter it's all part of making a difference for her special kids, "I chose to come to this school. It's a special school and special things are happening here."

To nominate your special teacher, pick up an entry form at your local Bi-Lo or you can print one here and send it to:

Golden Apple Award
P.O. Box 2438
Chattanooga, TN 37409 

Then watch WDEF News 12 Tuesday nights at 6:00 to see if your teacher was chosen.