Name: Natalie Sonnier Chustz
Twitter: @NatalieSChustz
nchustz@aesgators.org
nms8400@gmail.com

Tell us who you are! How long have you been working in the education field? What school district are you in?
My name is Natalie Sonnier Chustz, and I have been in the education world since 2012. I have a wide range of educational experiences including kindergarten, first, and second  grade teacher, 8th grade math teacher, Educational technology and instructional coach. My Bachelor’s degree is in Early childhood education with an add on certification in middle school mathematics. Also, I obtained a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology Leadership and a graduate certificate in Instructional Coaching. I teach first grade now in a private school in Lafayette, Louisiana and have many other roles in professional development around my community. With a combined effort, a colleague and I organized EdCamp Lafayette. Also, I am the founder of Ipadpalooza in Louisiana while serving as Lafayette parish Chapter treasurer for the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana (A+PEL) organization.  I am a motivator, believer, innovator, and educator; hence my FAVORITE shirt that I first saw at a What Great Educators Do Differently Conference in Texas this year! :)
 
What subject/grade do you teach?
This school year, I transitioned from working with other educators to head back to the classroom. You can find me teaching 19 kiddos in first grade. I have the best of both worlds. I enjoy the classroom setting with an abundance of educational technology and am supported by an awesome administration team and other colleagues.
 
Who was your favourite teacher when you were a student? What made them stand out from the rest?
Oh geez. I had a lot of teacher role models in my elementary days. I would have to say my second and third grade teachers were really special. Ms. McCarroll, my second grade teacher, was the one who showed the most compassion and was always caring. She was always bringing real life experiences to our classroom. I will never forget this one particular time she dressed up as Amelia Bedelia. That is probably one of the defining moments and one reason I wanted to be a teacher. The fun, the creativity, the enjoyable moments you have with students everyday are priceless. Ms. McCarroll and I still keep in touch via Facebook. Oh, the joys of social media!
 

I am SO thrilled to be featuring Friendella. When she first messaged me, she said one of the reasons she connected with me was the fact that she rarely came across women of colour who are educators on Twitter...and she's absolutely right. One of the things I strive to do in the #HowDoYouDoItSeries, is promote educators from all backgrounds. The beautiful thing about teaching is that it doesn't have a profile; if you have the heart and the soul to teach, you can teach.
Friendella's love of learning and teaching is so obvious. As I read through her answers, I smiled, laughed, connected and most importantly, appreciated the fact that we have educators like her in our world. Keep the connection going and reach out to Friendella after reading her feature.

-- Jam

​Name:  Friendella Scott
Twitter: @ScottNoFitz
 
Tell us who you are! How long have you been working in the education field? What school district are you in?  
 My name is Friendella, but people call me Frien for short. Some call me “Fran” just because of our regional diction! I have been in education for 2.5 years. I began this journey, officially, February 2, 2015. My two year teacherversary is upon me! I am in the Shelby County School district in Memphis, TN.
 
What subject/ grade do you teach?
 As of right now I teach 10th grade ELA Standard and Co-teach. This year I was also    granted the opportunity to work as a Creative Writing teacher.
 
Who was your favourite teacher when you were a student? What made them stand out from the rest?   
 There are many teachers that I feel were influential as a student. Some good, some not so good. Ms. Heskett was my 3rd grade teacher. Her room always smelled like chalk and new crayons. I love that smell to this day. She had a way with a yardstick, if you know what I mean, but the teacher who made me love English, as a high schooler, was Mr. Dunaway. He was very reminiscent of Santa. Mr. D was the only teacher to give us his home number and address. Can you imagine that? Looking back, that was a pretty bold move on his behalf because our school was considered “urban”. He allowed us to tackle material in a way that made sense to us and sometimes allowed us to sing in his class. Hands down, best teacher ever. I had the opportunity to speak with him as a teacher at a professional development last year and it was kind of surreal. 

​Name: Heather Green
Twitter: @sassyteaching
 
Tell us who you are! How long have you been working in the education field? What school district are you in?
Howdy, from Texas! I’m Heather Green from Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, near Dallas. I’m currently in my 13th or 14th year as an educator. Time flies and becomes irrelevant when you’re having fun!

What subject/ grade do you teach?
I currently teach a technology applications class to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, but I’ve previously taught science as well as a college awareness and preparatory program known as AVID. I also serve as the social-emotional lesson writer for my campus. That’s an exciting new component to my work. I’m a hybrid teacher! I spend a portion of my day in the classroom with students and a portion of my day managing the social-emotional learning program.

Who was your favourite teacher when you were a student? What made them stand out from the rest?
My favorite teacher turns out to be perhaps my most rigorous teacher with high expectations. Mrs. Kay Stroud, my high school biology teacher, ran a tight ship and held everyone accountable for learning. I disrupted often in her class – total disclosure – so once I became an educator I gained immense respect for her and the profession.  I also sincerely, in retrospect, apologized to Mrs. Stroud!

What was learning like growing up for you? Easy, challenging?
​I’d say that learning for me leaned a bit on the easy side of the spectrum. I also did not apply myself adequately, so I feel confident admitting that had I done so, school would have been infinitely more challenging for me.

Happy New Year everyone! It's great to be kicking off 2017 with another fantastic educator feature for you to enjoy. I came across Dean Vendramin on Twitter after I shared a post looking for new people to feature on the blog. I don't have the honor of knowing Dean personally, but after reading through his responses, he reminds me so much of myself. It is obvious he is a passionate educator who loves the work he does. I appreciated his honesty (especially admitting he has a bad sense of humour!) and his overall joy of learning. If you enjoyed what you read, make sure you let Dean know and connect with him as well!

​-Jam

Dean Vendramin
Twitter: @vendi55
Blog: deanvendramin.weebly.com

Tell us who you are! How long have you been working in the education field? What school district are you in?
My name is Dean Vendramin and I have been working in the field of education for 21 years. My school district is Regina Catholic Schools.

What subject/ grade do you teach?
I currently am an education leader and teach Math to grades 9-11. But I have taught many other classes including Social Studies and Communication Media (involves video, audio, web design, and graphic design). I also had a stint working in our district office as an educational technology coach and consultant which was great and I got to work with teachers from K-12.

Who was your favourite teacher when you were a student? What made them stand out from the rest?
In elementary school, it would have been Ms. Weisbroad because she challenged us, enjoyed what she did, and I felt she genuinely cared for us. In high school, it would have been Mr. Lundine because I really enjoyed his class and also he challenged us. Once there was an assignment we did where I had to pretend to be a teacher in a one room school house and he pulled me aside and said, “You looked natural up there! You would be a good teacher some day (which reaffirmed what I wanted to be even back then).

What was learning like growing up for you? Easy, challenging?
I was lucky that I was able to ‘get’ things fairly quickly when I was growing up and that’s why appreciated a challenge and also gave me a chance to help others ‘get’ it which is what I try to do to this day.