May 6, 2005

EvergreenTeacher of the Month

Math teacher Mimi Kwon from LeyVa Middle School. She was nominated for the Evergreen Times Teacher of the Month for May by parent Annette Sousa.

Mimi Kwon, LeyVa Middle School

Nominated by Annette Sousa

Have you ever felt so grateful to a teacher for his or her extra efforts? Well, I have. Mimi Kwon, who teaches Advanced Algebra at Ley Va has made me feel that way. I have a son in her class, and although he understands the material, he doesn’t always put his best foot forward to get his work done and turned in on time.

As happens quite often with most parents I know, I have no way of knowing whether or not my son turns in his assignments unless one of three things happens: I wait until grades come out, I follow up directly with his teacher on each assignment or his teacher notifies me.

With classroom head counts out of control and a focus on security, safety and state testing, many teachers cannot or will not take the time to interact with individual parents on a regular basis. Mrs. Kwon does.

Not only does she make it her business to e-mail me regularly with updates regarding past assignments, she also e-mails me every couple of weeks to let me know what is upcoming in her class. That way I know what to ask my son about and what to help him prepare for.

In addition to her willingness to keep me abreast of the class assignments, testing, etc., she also spends time with the students to make sure that they understand the material and have the ability to complete their assignments and perform well on tests.

Every day she spends her lunch hour in her classroom helping students. She also spends over an hour each day after school to assist students.

She has even gone to the extreme of making sure that my son does his homework at school each day before coming home to ensure that the work is done and turned in on time.

I guess what I’m really trying to say is thank you, Mrs. Kwon. You are a bright light in our public education system and a blessing to parents like me.

If you would like to nominate a teacher for this column, please submit your reason why to Bea Baechle, Editor of the Evergreen Times, by e-mailing bea@timesmediainc.com or calling (408) 494-7000, ext. 203.