The teacher of the month for January is Mrs. Tavernier! Mrs. Tavernier just completed her first semester of teaching and chose to do it at our beautiful campus. Even after being at HHS for such a short time, Tavernier discloses, “it is difficult to pick just one” favorite memory at HHS. However, one of her favorite memories so far is “when [her] students get excited about math or want to share how well they did on homework.” Every teacher wants to see their students succeed, but it takes a skilled and patient individual to make that happen, the way Mrs. Tavernier is able to in her classroom. 

Much of Mrs Tavernier’s success with teaching students in her classroom, she  contributes to doing “a lot of group and whiteboard work.” Why does this work? Mrs. Tavernier explained that, “this allows students to collaborate and discuss, which in turn helps deepen understanding.” In this classroom students are not just scraping the surface in their math lessons, but are actually building long term comprehension of the material. 

Even when a student needs a little extra help to understand the concept, Mrs. Tavernier takes time to help them through the struggle. In fact her favorite aspect of teaching is, “…when my students grasp a harder topic. Those “ah ha” moments are such a joy to experience.” Mrs. Tavernier is able to guide her students towards the correct questions, which builds confidence once a tough problem is finally solidified. 

Furthermore, students agree that Mrs. Tavernier makes the classroom a welcoming place. Sam Lewis, a current student of Mrs. Tavernier says, “she treats everyone with respect.” Another current student, Karidee Thompson, explains, “Mrs Tavernier is a great teacher and makes math easy.” Mrs. Tavernier has excellent qualities of being didactic with her math lessons, but thoughtful in her interactions with students. After all, one thing Mrs. Tavernier loves about Hughson is, “the students and the community support. Hughson is a fantastic place to live and teach!”