Shelly Murphy Smith

I have been a teacher since 1998. It is something I have always wanted to do ever since I was a young child. I had many great teachers growing up and I have worked with many great teachers. I love what I do and every year it seems that I love it a little bit more than the year before. I love doing new things each year. My biggest goal is for my students to love learning and love school. I have spent almost my whole career teaching kindergarten students which is such a rewarding experience because they show so much growth both physically and mentally throughout the year. I have also taught 1st grade and a reading program for 1st graders called Reading Recovery and one year of fourth grade. I am continuously looking for new things to try. For example, this summer I reached out to my families of former students that I've had and met them for a read aloud in one of our local parks. A lot of my friends thought I was crazy because it was summer vacation and I was taking my time to meet with students who I was not even teaching any longer. But to me it was very rewarding and fulfilling. I plan to do it at least one more time this summer before the new school year starts. As I said, I love what I do! I have been a teacher since 1998. It is something I have always wanted to do ever since I was a young child. I had many great teachers growing up... read more