Alyssa Passmore

Alyssa Passmore of Byron teaches second grade at Rockford’s Keith School. Though fairly new to this school, she’s been teaching in Wisconsin and Illinois schools for 10 years. Alyssa strives to be a teacher like her own second grade teacher, one who made her feel “like I could do anything and do it well.” Alyssa’s classroom observers saw her encourage all students, even when responses were incorrect. She praises students for trying, telling them they are still learning and have lots of great ideas in their heads. One observer wrote, “she used a range of strategies to ensure that all of the students were heard.” Alyssa believes key ingredients to successful educational experiences include behavioral & academic expectations, teacher-student relationships, instruction designed to meet students’ individual needs and a collaborative approach including families & other teachers. “When all these elements come together, the real magic of education can occur & it can change lives.” Dr. Annie Baddoo, head of Keith’s Lower School, says Alyssa not only excels in each of those areas, “she is genuine & joyful as she interacts with students and performs her work.” With a classroom community diverse in learning level, race, religion and culture, Alyssa’s class discusses often how everyone is “wonderfully different.” She explains, “it is a great skill to have to be knowledgeable about world religions, history and traditions. Students in my classroom know that we don’t just tolerate others’ differences, we accept & celebrate them.” Alyssa’s students may work multiple grades above or below their second grade peers. She provides opportunities for them all to meet their needs, catch them up and/or push them outside their comfort zones. She is working on an enrichment program for Keith to serve the needs of its gifted population. Dr. Baddoo says that in Alyssa’s classroom, “student engagement is at such a high level that one cannot tell the difference between the high, average and low students … as a result of her high expectations, knowledge of evidence-based practices and her ability to differentiate the curriculum, they all improve, grow and exceed the expectations.”