Educator of the Week: Sarita Poston

It’s time to recognize this weeks educator of the week , brought to you by the Tennessee Education Lottery.

Sarita Poston has been teaching math at Lincoln Elementary School for 13 years now, but her teaching career goes further back. But over the years, she says her favorite part about the job hasn’t changed.

“My favorite part is engaging with our scholars. You learn something new every day. We teach them, but it’s like I tell them, we learn from them as well,” Poston said.

And while learning can be difficult sometimes, Poston says the best way to combat the issue is to offer encouragement and a helping hand when needed. She says this is because every student can learn, it just may be in a different way.

“When they’re having a challenging moment, it’s just encouraging them to push through it because they all can learn it. They all can learn it, it just depends on how they learn,” Poston said.

And sometimes, you have to meet the students where they are. She says that includes watching for any learning gaps or deficiencies.

“You have to meet with them and meet them where they are. We can’t push them any further if we don’t address any gaps that they may have,” Poston said.

Poston says her proudest moments as a teacher come when her students understand the material. That is because she wants her students to be their best self when they leave third grade.

“When my scholars really understand, that’s the end goal. We want them to be productive young adults. So I want to make sure that they understand and know as much as they can before they leave third grade,” Poston said.

Poston is now eligible for the Tennessee Education Lottery Educator of the Month award.

To vote for her or any other nominees, go to the Tennessee Education Lottery website.

To nominate an educator for our weekly award, just email us at [email protected].