A fourth grade teacher at Franklin Elementary in Cape Girardeau has been named Missouri Outstanding Beginning Teacher for the spring semester.
Elizabeth Speicher says she has always wanted to be a teacher, specifically with grade school children. Speicher says the most rewarding part of her first year on the job is watching her students’ academic growth.
“Some of my kids have jumped three or four reading levels and have really improved in their math and they have grown so much, especially with talking to one another,” Speicher said. “They seem more grown up. They’re ready for middle school. It’s been very rewarding to be a part of their lives for at least a year.”
Now finishing her first year in the classroom, Speicher says she has had great mentors both at Franklin and while in college.
“And what they have done best for me is just being there to ask questions and being there to talk me through things. When you first start out, you don’t even really know how to begin. You’re just getting your feet wet,” Speicher said. “To be talked along through the process and be guided along what you’re supposed to teach and how you’re supposed to do it has been very helpful to me.”
Speicher graduated of Southeast Missouri State University.
This the second consecutive year that a Franklin Elementary teacher has won the award.
The Missouri Association for Colleges of Teacher Education presented Speicher with the award.