NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The May Allen Samuels CDJR Teacher of the Month is Michelle Collins. Collins is a first grade teacher at Nickerson Elementary. Collins was nominated by parent Adrienne Childs.
“Michelle has such an amazing heart and goes above and beyond to make not only the students in her class but their parents know how much she cares for them," Childs said in her entry. "My daughter has made amazing strides in her class and truly enjoys being in her classroom!”
Collins believes she's teaching in the right place at the right age.
"I think first grade is the most rewarding grade," Collins said. "You get to see so much growth. They learn how to read. They're learning how to do math, addition, subtraction, fractions, they just learn so much. It's so much fun to watch them."
COVID was a challenge, and this is the first year without masks for a lot of the kids. She's also able to do more small group work with them this year.
"I think it's been a little challenging," Collins said. "They've had to get used to each other and just learn how to respect each other a little bit. Overall, they're still just six and seven year olds who just love to be around each other and engage in fun activities."
Her familiarity in the district has been an advantage in communicating with parents.
"Since I've been with Nickerson Elementary for so many years, I know a lot of the families," Collins said. "I've had their siblings. We use a communication tool called Seesaw, which my families seem to really enjoy. We communicate through Seesaw. We can send photos, messages, I can tell them how they are doing."
Collins has been a first grade teacher for 16 years in Nickerson. She wants every one of her families to know how much she appreciates all of them. She says she couldn't do anything without their support throughout the year.