Jelena Holcomb of Rockford has been teaching for 19 years, the past three at the STEAM Academy at Haskell, where she teaches Kindergarten. Her biggest commitment is to “plan lessons that are fun and memorable to meet students where they are and push them forward to where they need to be.” Teaching partner Amy Pliml describes Jelena’s students as “always so engaged and challenged because of her understanding of what they know and what each individual child is ready to learn.” The first line of a pledge the school says together daily is, “I pledge to notice the ways we are all the same and celebrate our differences.” Jelena uses discussion, family information, stories, videos and books to learn and understand diverse perspectives. She wants “students to work together and learn from each other just as much as they learn from me.” Jelena has participated in numerous school committees and continuously attends professional development sessions every year to improve as a teacher. She shares her knowledge and materials not just with her students, but also with colleagues to help them help their students succeed as well. Pliml says Jelena’s “sharing of ideas, materials and knowledge is always delivered with the goals of having our team and school be the best we can be.” She added that “Jelena challenges me as well as her students to do better and be better through her passion, knowledge and actions as a highly qualified and gifted teacher.” A board member who sat in on Jelena’s class said she thought that the lesson she observed seemed “advanced for Kindergarten but the kids kept up and knew exactly what she was going for”! She followed up with, “I would love my kids to have her”!