WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — A+ teacher Lisa Sumrall is passionate about fostering a genuine love of learning and helping students at Choice in Learning Elementary Charter School build a strong foundation.
“Kindergarten teachers have a front-row seat to witness the incredible growth and development of young children. Teaching allows me to foster each child's creativity, curiosity and confidence,” says Sumrall. “Watching children grow is a constant source of inspiration, and each milestone my students achieve reinforces the importance of my role as an educator.”
She said there's something really special about Choice in Learning Elementary Charter School in Winter Springs.
“We are a cooperative learning school, so students think together, share, discuss, give each other answers and that's how they learn from each other,” she said.
Sumrall liked this approach so much that she enrolled three of her own children in the school where she teaches.
“Kids are like little sponges, they soak up what you give them and they grow with it,” she says. “For example, there are a lot of more advanced problems in math and reading, and even at 5 and 6 years old, kids can do that.”
Samrall likes to challenge them.
“Just keep reaching out, because they're so talented,” she said.
Creating the right atmosphere is key, she said.
“They're here to have fun, but they're also here to grow together. It's also fun to live together and create a class family. We're here every day. We spend more time together than we do with our families,” she said.
Sumrall said her third-grade teacher, Mr. Watson, inspired her to choose teaching as a career.
“She cared about us so much and invited us to her wedding. She made learning so much fun and she changed my life so dramatically that I wanted to change my life too,” Sumrall said.
She wants her students to have that strong foundation, too.
“That's what I preach to the kids here. You can be anything, but you have to be able to read. You have to be able to write. Some kids say, 'I want to play baseball or football,' well, you have to be able to read plays. The reason we talk about it at this age is because they want it and they have goals for themselves,” Sumrall explained.
These are the goals Samrall wants each of them to achieve.