Staff Spotlight: First grade teacher Terri Grant creates a varied environment to encourage a range of learners
by Mary Jo David
Terri Grant, first grade teacher at Smith Elementary, has a knack for teaching young ones, but the impact she has on her students doesn’t end in her classroom. As recently as this past year, Grant wrote a Stockbridge Community News story about two students she taught as second-graders who have gone on to graduate—first high school, then college—and are now traveling the globe.
“I do so enjoy following their travels online. I have traveled overseas previously, so I really appreciate some of the things they encounter,” Grant said when she talked about the adventures of her former Stockbridge students Madie Gee Montgomery and Kyle Lilley.
Grant, who is in her 27th year of teaching, grew up in Portland, Mich., and graduated from Portland High School. There, she participated in band, flag corps, and the school newspaper, and was yearbook editor her senior year. She then went on to graduate from Grand Valley State University.
Before she realized teaching was her calling, Grant worked at an office job with the idea she’d like to branch into travel and tourism. A few years later, and after she received her teaching certificate, her career took a left turn when a prospective employer called her about an overseas teaching opportunity.
“I heard, ‘overseas teaching opportunity,’ and I immediately began picturing a year in Paris or some other exotic European city,” Grant exclaimed. Instead, she learned the opportunity was at the International School of Choueifat—in Lahore, Pakistan!
“What did he just say,” she asked herself. “And where exactly is Lahore, Pakistan,” she wondered as she reached for a map to help answer her questions. Grant went on to teach in Lahore for three years.
Upon her return to the United States, she landed a job in the Stockbridge School District, and when asked if she has any regrets about changing up her career choice after college, Grant said she has never looked back.
“I should have known. From the time I was young, I always enjoyed playing with my younger cousins and being the family babysitter. Once I taught my first class, I just became more and more convinced that teaching was my calling. I still love it even after all these years!”
In any given year, Grant explains that she has a range of learners in the first grade—some may be struggling with learning letter sounds while an occasional first grader may be reading 100 words a minute.
“Teaching early elementary is different from teaching older kids, because first graders are too young to be able to do much work independently.”
Therefore, it’s up to Grant to provide an environment that meets the needs of all her students. Her first graders love a varied routine. One of their favorite classroom activities she calls “Centers,” where the students take on four different tasks in an hour’s time. For example, in that hour they may have to work on puzzles, math, a “Meet with Me,” and then practice Chromebook skills.
Regardless of student ability, Grant’s goal is to set an important foundation for her students. She explains, “When parents tell me their kids love my class and look forward to coming to school, I know those students are going to have the stepping stones they need for continued learning, and they will, hopefully, be open to great things in their futures.”
And parents can help. This first-grade teacher, who is also a single parent, is a firm believer that parents play a key role in helping their children to have an appreciation for learning. “Making it a priority to read with children at home for ten or fifteen minutes every day is another important key to giving them that strong foundation,” Grant said.
As her students move on from first grade, Terri Grant hopes they enjoy their journey and remain open to wherever their paths may lead. After all, she did, and look where her journey took her!
Prior to teaching in Stockbridge, first-grade teacher Terri Grant’s early career took a left turn when she accepted an overseas teaching opportunity in Lahore, Pakistan. Photo credit: schoolvisor.org
Terri Grant
