ThankTeachersYou,

Shaw Local News Network would like to recognize and thank the teachers and support staff in our community,

Putnam County CUSD #535

Putnam County High School

Putnam County Junior High

Putnam County Elementary

Putnam County Primary School

Henry-Senachwine CUSD #5

Henry-Senachwine Grade School/Junior High

Henry-Senachwine High School

Fieldcrest Community Unit School District #6

Fieldcrest Primary School

Fieldcrest Middle School

Fieldcrest Intermediate School

Fieldcrest High School

“I’ve always been a part of this community,” Schoff said. “It’s where I started and I can’t imagine working anywhere else.”

That role eventually evolved into a math and social studies position and then a full-time role teaching social studies at the junior high level.

While Schoff didn’t immediately recognize teaching as her professional calling, when taking compatibility and skills tests growing up, she knew that she would enjoy working with kids in some capacity.

“I would tell myself that I’m going to be in business or something like that and so I tried to stay away from it,” Schoff said. “Then I just got pulled back because that’s what I love and where I feel my gift is.”

Schoff originally gained experience working for all different ages of students, from her beginnings as an aide for kindergarteners before finding a true home working at the junior high level.

“It’s the relationships that you have with the junior high kids,” Schoff said. “Some teachers might hate junior high, but I just feel more comfortable with them and can build relationships with them.”

While academics obviously play a huge role in her position, Schoff truly values working alongside the students in attempts to teach them the content and skills that they will continue to use moving forward.

Schoff said that one of her main goals is to have her students wanting to learn and continue to be lifelong learners once they are finished with their formal education.

“I want my students to know that they are valued and I want them to find their potential,” Schoff said. “I want them to know that people care about them. That’s one of my biggest goals is to have that positive influences on them and to validate each of my students so they leave junior high knowing their worth.”

Schoff’s message of being a lifelong learner is one that she has carried with herself during her own professional career, stating that she has had to continue to develop her own skills as an educator.

This development also leads to the need to identify the specific needs of the individual student and in some cases has to create new ways to help students grasp a specific topic or lesson.

“It’s definitely a humbling career,” Schoff said. “You think you’ve got it down and then all of a sudden the next day there’s a new situation. I know that I’ve got to keep learning new strategies, classroom management and even content.”

Schoff believes that every student is different, every class is different and every school year brings a new set of challenges that teachers need to adapt to overcome.

Those words rung true as Schoff, among countless educators around the world, had to adjust how they performed their jobs during the pandemic.

“We had to step out of our comfort zones and find new strategies to reach those kids at home,” Schoff said. “Now we can use a lot of what we learned moving forward.”

Schoff added that her class, and many others, have come out of the pandemic with an increase in the amount of technology used to effectively educated students.

One adjustment Schoff’s class made was to change the way they would create their living wax museum projects. Before the pandemic, students would dress up as historical figures and create a scene and invite members of the public to come and view.

Using technology, the class has since been able to create the scenes using green screen to place the historical actors into the time periods that they belong.

“We’ve done things like that,” Schoff said. “They’ve been really fun and innovative and I think it’s just made everyone learn a little bit more.”

Outside of her individual classroom Schoff has been involved in the district as a mentor teacher, cheer coach, student council sponsor and a robotics coach.

These extracurriculars have helped Schoff’s career passion grow. While she enjoys the school district she works for and the teachers and faculty she works with, it’s the students that have kept her doing what she loves to do.

“It’s the kids that need me,” Schoff said. “I know that they need stability, they need somebody in here that cares about them and sometimes they just really need to see a smile when they come in the classroom everyday.”

As much as Schoff said she needs the kids, the kids at Bureau Valley are grateful to have a dedicated teacher such as Schoff.