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This is part of an occasional series on members of the
2006 All-USA Teacher Team, USA TODAY's recognition
program for outstanding K-12 teachers. Winners share $2,500 awards with their schools.
To nominate a teacher for the 2007 team, visit allstars.usatoday.com.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Each school day starts with a hug for Patrice McCrary's kindergartners.
One by one, the 22 boys and girls come through the door of the classroom and have a few seconds with their teacher, who gets down on her knees so she can wrap her arms around each student.
That time is as much for McCrary as it is for the students.
"Every day I see the world a new way because I see it through their eyes," McCrary says.
McCrary, 48, has been teaching 18 years, including the past eight at Cumberland Trace Elementary. She has taught all grade levels from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade but loves teaching the younger ones. Having heard that everyone needs somebody outside their immediate family to love them unconditionally, she tries to be that somebody for her students.
She knows that some students may come to her having a rough home life. Others may struggle with learning.
"Principals know that students who have the greatest learning needs should be placed with the most talented teachers," principal Mary Evans wrote in nominating McCrary for the All-USA Teacher Team. McCrary welcomes students with special needs into her classroom and includes them in all activities, Evans says. Students who have been unsuccessful the previous year have been transformed into enthusiastic learners, she adds.
Keeping the children active is one key.
McCrary's class starts the day with a "good morning" song in multiple languages, including sign language. When they study reading, students become word detectives and punctuation police, hunting for clues in what they are reading.
Each child is unique to McCrary, and she tries to play to their strengths. Every night, students take home spelling words to practice, each set based on their ability. Once they master a group of words, new words get added.
Along with academic skills, McCrary teaches students to be caring classmates and thoughtful listeners. Each day students draw secret pals, for whom they have to do something nice before being revealed at the end of the day.
McCrary sets the tone in the classroom, never speaking above a conversational voice. As a result, she says, children listen and pay more attention.
Parent Beth Schaeffer says her daughter, Grace, is so excited about school, "she can't learn enough. She just can't get enough of it."
At home, Grace now plays school, emulating her teacher by singing the same songs and routinely telling her pretend students to "kiss their brains," a tactic used by McCrary to praise her students.
And it works, Schaeffer says.
"You have to lay the foundation of wanting to learn," she says. "Those kids want to learn."
As important as teaching the students is keeping parents involved. McCrary meets with parents and child before each year begins to assess the student's ability and answer questions and address concerns. "I need to work hard to make sure that parents get a good footing in being a partner in education," McCrary says. "This is a long journey."
Yellow folders go between home and school each night so parents can leave notes for McCrary and she can respond. She sends out weekly newsletters and monthly calendars, maintains a website and sends news-flash e-mails.
McCrary is a hard act to follow, says Kim Smith, whose son, Nicholas, was in McCrary's class last year.
"They feel loved and just encouraged in every aspect of their lives," Smith says. "She challenged my son. She didn't put any limits on what he can learn."
The key, McCrary's colleagues say, is that she loves children and appreciates them individually. McCrary goes to baseball games and other events in her students' lives. If a student gets glasses, she tries to show up on that first day wearing her own glasses instead of her contacts.
"She gets on their level wherever it's at," says colleague Laura Sanders. "She looks at the child. She has a feeling for what their morning has been like and their night. She makes them feel special."
Jessie Halladay reports daily for the Louisville Courier-Journal.
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