Class Act Teacher of the Month: Vancleave Lower’s Stacy Riley

On this month’s Class Act, News 25’s Grant Chighizola went to Vancleave Lower Elementary to catch up with one first grade teacher on Grinch Day at school, a teacher who shares her love of learning with her students no matter the time of year.

The sounds and sights of Christmas time are in the air at Vancleave Lower Elementary as the teachers and students await Santa’s arrival.

We caught up with Stacy Riley’s class on Grinch Day at the school, where arts and crafts were the name of the game. “They love it. Having all the different activities on a daily basis gives them enjoyment and they get into school eager to learn, but then what everyone is dressed like, what we’re doing for that day.”

Stacy Riley is now in her second year at Vancleave Lower. She talked to us about what early childhood education means to her, especially in a first-grade setting. “It’s wonderful to see and hear how much they’ve grown. and it just makes us very happy.”

It’s that growth that informs Mrs. Riley’s teaching philosophy day in and day out. “Education can be fun. It doesn’t always have to be just paper and pencil. You can make it entertaining, you know, have it interactive with the children, and personally I just love the joy on their faces, so that drives me.”

As they prepare to enter the next half of the school year, Mrs. Roley has great hopes for her students. “To leave here with confidence. Knowing that they are strong, they can do it, they have that ability no matter what challenges they face, they can still make it through.”

If you want to nominate a deserving South Mississippi teacher, click here.