CA PRIDE - SUSAN SHIEMBOB

When I found out that I was going to need a new third grade teacher for this year, I knew I would not have to look very far. Our own Susan Shiembob was the ideal choice for the job. While this is her first year teaching third grade, Ms. Shiembob is not really a new teacher. She brings experience, fresh academic training and her own unique approach to teaching. I was very happy when she readily agreed to take on this new challenge. She started planning right away before the school year ended and continued working all summer so that she would be ready for this new adventure with her third grade students.

Let me tell you a bit more about her background. Ms. Shiembob graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Ms. Shiembob also has a teaching license to teach marketing education at the secondary level. She postponed her teaching career when she became a mom. We got to know her at CA when she enrolled her oldest son, now 16, in our preschool program. Teachers soon found that they had a great parent volunteer who did an excellent job organizing and helping with class and school events. I bet you can guess what happened next. They were soon suggesting that she consider subbing and the rest is history. Ms. Shiembob was frequently called to sub because the teachers knew she would do a great job.

Eventually we recognized that Ms. Shiembob also has excellent office management skills. I took advantage of that by creating a combined position in which she worked as our office assistant in the mornings and taught physical activity and geography in the afternoons. During her two years in this combined position, Ms. Shiembob took the courses needed to add an elementary endorsement to her teaching license. She completed this additional course work just in time to be ready to assume the third grade teaching position this year filled with fresh ideas from her classes.

This was an easy transition for our students as they already knew her well since she had taught them P.A. and geography in second grade. They also know her as a running coach with our Adventure Kids running club for operation smile. And she continues to be an active parent helping out with school events such as CARES Club. Ms. Shiembob also was very active in our parent organization prior to becoming a full time employee with us. As P.A. teacher, Ms. Shiembob has organized our annual Field Day; this is one of our favorite days of the year.

Ms. Shiembob brings the same commitment to all of her roles at CA. She puts in a tremendous amount of time to be well prepared both for the classes she teaches and the activities she helps sponsor. It is important to her that her students continue to build upon the strong academic foundation they already have by third grade. She is a strong believer in the benefits of regular exercise, setting personal goals and working to achieve them. She expects her students to be of good character and always do their best. This is what she models for them on a daily basis. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.