Michelle Rotuno-Johnson

mrotunojoh@marionstar.com

MARION – Sarah Kirby knows her work day doesn’t end when the kids leave the classroom.

The Pleasant Elementary School teacher spends her evenings blogging, developing new teaching methods, and talking to other educators about what works in the classroom. She also heads up the response to intervention (RTI) committee at her school, hosts student teachers, and presented at a conference in Las Vegas last school year.

Her innovative spirit is one of the reasons she was selected as Teacher of the Year for Pleasant, and also as State Board District 1 Teacher of the Year for Ohio. This puts her among the top 11 teachers in the state.

“She’s an agent of change,” said Pleasant Elementary principal Shelly Dason. “We’re lucky to have her.”

Kirby is a Pleasant grad and has been teaching in the district for eight years.

She said she sees herself as a coach in the classroom.

“I give them the tools, I show them what works, but then it’s up to them to apply it and to use it in a meaningful way,” she said. “I can’t do it for them, that’s where they have to step in and use it.”

Her first-grade students were beginning a creative writing project Tuesday, working diligently in the brightly-colored classroom.

“I love seeing these little guys just start to take shape as human beings,” Kirby said. “It’s amazing how they can absorb so much.”

Dason said Kirby is a “lifelong learner” who shares her findings with others.

“She’s not just a teacher, she’s a teacher of teachers.”

Kirby shares ideas on her blog and through Teachers Pay Teachers, a site where educators can buy and sell learning modules. She has 2,200 followers on the site, and is in their top 25 sellers list. And, she spends time talking to other educators to get new ideas for her own work.

“The biggest thing is growing myself, because if I don’t grow myself, these guys are going to become stagnant, and then we’re not going to accomplish much of anything,” she said.

Recently, she said, she researched Common Core so she could understand both sides of the issue.

“That shows what a ‘teacher nerd’ I am,” she laughed.

But it’s her passion, she said, and she can’t imagine doing anything else. Even if she were to come back in another life, she would still want to be in a classroom.

“I can’t see myself doing anything else,” she said. “Any time I even have a thought of, ‘is there anything else I would want to do,’ no. Every time, the answer is no.”

mrotunojoh@gannett.com

740-375-5150

Twitter: @RJReports