Lisa Anderson: From Lewiston Elementary student to Teacher of the Year
Congratulations to 2nd-grade teacher Lisa Anderson, Lewiston Elementary’s Teacher of the Year! Anderson is fun, thoughtful, and dedicated to giving her students the experiences and care they need to succeed. A local to the area, Anderson attended Lewiston Elementary as a student, only to come back years later as a teacher herself. She even works with some of her own childhood teachers! Anderson is giving back to the community she loves, by inspiring her students to love learning.
Anderson graduated from Utah State University with a degree in early childhood education. While at school, she worked at the USU Dairy and Aggie Creamery. It was there that some of her coworkers inspired her to take the path to become an educator. She loves to work with young students and her love for them has only grown through her 17 years of teaching. After teaching for several years in the Jordan School District, she took a break to raise her five sons. Twelve years ago, Anderson and her family moved back to Cache Valley and she began teaching at her alma mater, Lewiston Elementary, where she has worked ever since.
Lewiston Elementary Principal Leslie Burt believes that the school is a better place because of Anderson’s fun and positive attitude. Her contribution to many teams and committees shows her dedication to the school. “She serves on the school SAT/TAG team where she has great ideas and supports for helping both teachers and students,” Burt explained. “She also serves on the Socials Committee as the gifts coordinator. She always comes up with the perfect gifts for retirements and fun ways to celebrate everyone. Lisa works to find ways to bring out the best in all of her students. She is an excellent educator and colleague.”
Key to Anderson’s excellence is her desire to create hands-on experiences for her students to illustrate what they are learning in class. She described the excitement that her students feel when they get to put on science goggles and be like “real scientists.” For example, to finish up a unit on earth science, Anderson and her students create model volcanoes that they “explode” outside to highlight the principles they learned in class. Activities like these show how Anderson strives to get her students interested and invested in science and learning.
“My biggest desire for my students is that they learn to love learning,” Anderson explained. “I want them to learn how to learn. I don’t want them to just go through the motions, but to learn because they just really want to know.”