Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Teacher of the Year: Mrs. Sofia Guerrero!

Congratulations to Landrum's "Teacher of the Year," Mrs. Sofia Guerrero!

A graduate of the University of Houston, Mrs. Guerrero is in her second year of teaching 7th grade Math here at Landrum. After being a student observer here three years ago, Mrs. Guerrero decided to come back to Landrum to student teach under the mentorship of 8th grade math teacher and Landrum veteran, Jennifer Roth.
LMS Principal Steven Speyrer & Mrs. Guerrero

Class photos of hard work
This teacher does nearly the impossible...she gets 7th graders to enjoy math! Her wall is covered with positive messages from students who are appreciative of the hard work she puts in with them. This inspiring teacher continues to push students to do their best by creating systems and structures to support student learning. She and her students created "social contracts" by period to build a normed community of learners. A positive class culture pervades her room as further evidenced by pictures of students on the wall that make up the classroom decor.



Mrs. Guerrero helping students in the afternoon heat.
Mrs. Guerrero incentivizes her class by publicly tracking class-wide scores. She plays on the competitive nature of middle-schoolers to push them to achieve more than they think possible of themselves. This includes her two Study Skills classes that combine math instruction with brain-based methods to best help students retain information. In addition, this gem of the 100-hall helped develop the"Problem Solving Model" used in all math classes here at Landrum to provide students a tool to guide their thinking when tackling difficult math problems.

Class created "social contracts" for behavior norms

Publicly tracking student results to incentivize growth.
"Sofia is a dynamic, heart-driven teacher who focuses on the needs of her kids," effuses math Assistant Principal Brian Shillingburg. She continues this work both during school and after school hours.

Following the dismissal bell, Mrs. Guerrero continues to work by holding after school tutorials and running an ACE After-School program called "Art with Math Magic." In this class students create art using mathematical concepts. Mrs. Guerrero is also part of the "Quinse" program which works with young ladies from both Landrum and KIPP on understanding the tradition of and preparing young women for their quinceaƱera, an important event in Hispanic culture.


Congratulations again to the growth-minded, value-adding teacher, Mrs. Sofia Guerrero!




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