HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Fifth grade is the last level of elementary school and the leap before middle. People say one teacher makes her 5th-grade students feel confident to succeed!
Meet our Valley’s Top Teacher; Jennifer Ivey from Mountain Gap Elementary School!
It’s almost a decade of doing what Jennifer Ivey loves.
“This is my ninth year at Mountain Gap, and I’m lucky to say all nine of those have been in fifth grade. I love fifth grade,” Ivey said.
“They keep me on my toes, but I don’t think I’d change it for anything,” she added.
For Ivey, Huntsville is home. “I’m a product of Huntsville City Schools, and I was fortunate to have some incredible teachers that poured into my life,” she said.
“I still keep in touch with several of them today. They just work as a source of encouragement,” Ivey said.
Ivey’s love for teaching is not limited to her classroom. This time she spent the day spreading the joy of learning in someone else’s for Read Across America Week.
“So we read a book about a little boy who moved to New Mexico, but he wasn’t excited but we kind of were able to see the beauty that was really there and we were making our own versions with the first-grade class,” Ivey said.
It was her fifth graders that paired up with the younger group! “So I think sometimes reading can really be focused on in the younger grades, but I love to just kind of instill a desire and a love for reading when it comes to older students.”
Her principal, Amber Thompson, believes Ivey offers more than a love for learning.
“She loves her students. She has high expectations for them, socially, emotionally, and academically,” said Thompson.
Ivey’s hope is to be a positive influence on her students. “I love to just kind of mold kids, work with kids, and allow them to really choose their own paths regardless of what cards they were dealt.”
[WATCH: JENNIFER IVEY'S SURPRISE]
