Educator of the Week: Savannah Johnson
It’s time now to recognize this week’s Educator of the Week, brought to you by the Tennessee Education Lottery.
Savannah Johnson is a 5th grade Math Teacher at Bradford Elementary School.
Johnson started college in a different field of study but ended up switching majors.
Johnson shared that her high school teachers, especially her math teacher Ms. Linda farmer, motivated her change to education.
“I had, again, Ms. Linda Farmer, she was amazing and it was like no kid in her class was not going to get it so she strived to make sure that everybody got what they needed no matter how they had to do it and so that was something that really inspired me to become a teacher, especially in math,” said Johnson.
Johnson teaches three different rotations of kids which add up to 52 kids a day.
“The challenging part is making sure that I cater to like each kid and that’s a lot of kids in one day. Like, and everybody learns different so the most challenging part is like differentiating my lessons and instruction to meet all of their needs,” said Johnson.
Johnson has worked hard to learn how to best care for each student.
“I do a lot of group work, partner work, that way I have more one-on-one time with the kids. So I mean if I have a group of kids who get it, there’s no reason to keep them all in whole group. If they’re ahead and these kids are behind, like it just gives me more freedom to work one on one with them,” said Johnson.
Beyond the significance of meeting academic standards, Johnson spoke on the importance of creating a good environment for students.
“Some kids this is their only, like, safe space, so I just hope when they come into my room like they feel safe and loved and I can be like their person if they need something,” said Johnson.
Johnson 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 Educator of the Week award, email us at [email protected].
