Kelly Tran – Second Grade teacher

Location: Lakeridge Elementary

Job Description: Kelly’s main objectives are, 1) instill a life-long love of learning in her students, 2) to teach in an engaging way that makes learning meaningful to her second graders, 3) to know who they are as individuals (strengths & weaknesses) in order to meet their needs.

Typical day: “People who don’t work in schools are always surprised to find out how early I get here (around 7:30 a.m.), because school doesn’t start until 9:00 a.m.!” Kelly exclaims. “I need those extra hours to plan the day.” She emails parents, updates the class website, modifies lesson plans according to students’ needs, grades papers, and sets up materials for the day. “A 20-minute lesson can often take much more than 20 minutes to prep!” Kelly laughs. After the students arrive there’s the morning check-in routine and a literacy block.

Then comes snack time. “Snack time is big for 2nd graders,” says Kelly. “I think they like being responsible for their own snacks at school.” ‘Read Aloud’ time is another favorite. It’s a chance for students to relax, listen, and have a casual book discussion. “I read a chapter a day, usually from a book that is slightly above their reading level,” Kelly explains. “My students are often capable of grasping complex details even if they aren’t directly reading the material themselves.” Afternoons are filled with math and a combination of science, social studies and/or art. During class discussions, students practice connecting what they are learning at school to what is meaningful in their lives. For example, “If we are studying coins, they can relate to it by talking about shopping with their parents and what it means to get change. This expands the discussion to include addition and subtraction concepts.”

Best part of the job: The challenge of figuring out what engages her students and makes the learning at school meaningful to their own lives. As a teacher, Kelly has discovered that “children have worlds of their own to share about at school. It’s fun working with so many little human beings that are constantly growing and exploring.”

Something people may not know: Kelly was an art major in college, specializing in welding and woodworking sculpture. “I turned in my welder’s gloves for pencils and papers! I wanted to focus on the craft of teaching.” Kelly hopes to one day realize her vision of integrating art more with other curriculum areas. “Art can be more than glue and crayons at the elementary level,” she explains. “I view art as something that is found in everything. I see natural opportunities to integrate art into reading, writing, science, social studies, and math. For instance, artists use symmetry, which enriches the subject of geometry. I am lucky to work at MISD. This district allows you to integrate art into general instruction, if you can find the time. The hardest thing,” she says wistfully, “is finding the time.”

Years in district: This is Kelly’s sixth year with MISD.

Outside interests: Recently married, Kelly is “trying to balance my life! Now, instead of staying late at work, my goal is to get home at a decent hour to be with my husband.” Dan, who is a glassblower, and Kelly enjoy developing the artistic side of their lives at home. Kelly also likes to cook, and is learning new recipes for the wild salmon that Dan catches in his free time. Kelly is also helping her parents transcribe their memoirs for their family’s history. Her parents emigrated from Vietnam one month before her birth.