THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504140169
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
SHE WAS the teacher's pet. The baby sitter who schooled her charges. The ``A'' student who tutored peers. The former John Yeates High's last valedictorian.
``People would always say, `Oh, Jody's quite the little teacher,' '' recalled Jody Sommerfeldt, a first-grade teacher at Southwestern Elementary. ``Ever since I was young, I've always enjoyed that.''
Still, the thought of pursuing a teaching career didn't click until her sophomore year at the College of William and Mary, when she was a preschool volunteer as part of a psychology class assignment.
``I loved it...the kids were always so excited,'' she said. ``The teacher was very put-together, very well-organized. I saw that the kids were learning and they did lots of neat, hands-on activities. I thought, `What a neat thing - to just be able to take these children and kind of show them the way.' ''
Now, it's Sommerfeldt's own work as a teacher that has wowed city school officials.
The 22-year-old, first-year teacher will represent Suffolk in the annual Sallie Mae First Class Teacher competition. Sallie Mae, a student loan provider, has honored the country's best rookie teachers since 1984.
Up to 56 teachers will get a $1,500 cash award and time in the national spotlight when winners are announced in September. Sommerfeldt said it would be a coup to win one of the prestigious awards, but the nomination was equally special.
Her classroom was alive with children one recent afternoon. Some worked on sentences about Peter Rabbit. Others completed an art project in which they made Easter baskets out of Gerber jars, cotton balls and felt.
Sommerfeldt weaved through the pockets of concentration, offering advice or guiding students when necessary. Her style is to let students experience as much as possible through hands-on learning as opposed to straight lectures.
``She's sweet,'' 6-year-old Amy Wright concluded. ``She makes me want to learn and she gives us good directions.''
Sommerfeldt now lives in Portsmouth with her husband and baby son, but she says Suffolk will always be home.
``I was successful going through Suffolk public schools and I felt like I needed to give back. I had teachers who are partly responsible for getting me where I am.''
Co-workers say her batteries stay charged. She explains her outlook this way: ``I try to be excited for the kids. If they see a teacher who's kind of glum and doesn't care, then they're not going to be excited to learn.'' And if a ``school is to grow,'' she added, ``you have to keep new ideas coming in.''
Sommerfeldt serves on school committees to promote literacy and improve students' writing skills. More than a third of her students' parents have been guest speakers and classroom volunteers. She routinely invites fifth-graders to her class to tutor or help out with odds and ends before and after school.
``One thing that really stands out is her enthusiasm,'' said Principal Wanda Hamilton. ``She's a person who truly loves to teach. You can see it every day. ..She's here early, she stays late. She goes the extra mile.''
Sommerfeldt says she's always been that way. ``I wanted to impress my parents, my teachers. I didn't want to disappoint anyone. Deep down, I knew I was doing it for myself, but knowing that others expected me to excel pushed me harder. Going above and beyond what's required - that's something my parents instilled in me.''
But she realizes all students don't have safety nets. ``You have to take what the kids have gotten in their home environment and account for that, and then lay a foundation and just build upon it,'' she said.
It's more important for teachers to add value to their students' educational lives, she said, than to focus on what they lack.
``If I can't keep all of my children here interested and motivated, they're not going to make it through high school.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Jody Sommerfeldt, a first-grade teacher at Southwestern Elementary,
says: ``I try to be excited for the kids.''
by CNB