Math and science teacher Janet Maher at Immaculate Conception School was nominated for a teacher spotlight by her Impact Manager Summerlin Northrup. “I have had the privilege of being the Impact Manager at Immaculate Conception and it has been a joy to watch Mrs. Maher facilitate the material with her 7th and 8th grade students,” Summerlin shared. “Mrs. Maher makes the content enjoyable and relatable for her students by adding in funny anecdotes and showing students videos like what not to do in an interview. Mrs. Maher’s students have fun in her class, and she is one of those teachers that students say, ‘Yes, I have Mrs. Maher’s class next!’ and they look forward to coming to her class. Those teachers are rare to come by, and we are lucky to have her teaching Roadmap to Success!”
Alma Mater: University of Texas at Arlington
Area of Study: Physical Education with a certification for all Elementary (1-8) subjects
Favorite College Memory: During college, I really enjoyed going out to the schools to visit the classrooms and teaching Science/Social Studies/ Math/ PE units to various grades.
Why did you choose to become a teacher?
When I was in High School all I could see myself doing was ice skating in the Olympics. My skills though were not good enough. I chose a college that was close to home and had just opened an ice rink. Shortly after arriving at my chosen college, the rink closed. While I was learning to ice skate, I was told many times I should teach, since I could approach skills or tasks from different angles. When the rink closed, it made me look at what I wanted and what I was capable of doing. At that point I reevaluated what I wanted to do. I really love it when a child understands a concept and the “lightbulb” goes on.
Favorite activity/ lesson in the Roadmap to Success program:
I think my favorite so far is the GPA lesson. Most of my students thought that if they just had good grades, that would assure them of getting in to the school (High School) they wanted. It was enlightening for them to see the whole package.
One short story highlighting Roadmap to Success in your classroom:
As a result of the program, when my 8th graders are discussing high schools, they bring up what the campus felt like, what the school has to offer them and what they need to do to get into that school. I feel they are more aware of their choice instead of just going somewhere because that is where their friends are going. There is something of the same going with my 7th graders. They are thinking of where they would like to go when their time comes for high school visits next year.
