My Next Door Neighbor

By "my next door neighbor" I don't mean my house.  I mean my next door neighbor at school.  Her name is Mandi and she teaches first grade with me.  I've taught with her for about five years.  I liked her from the first day I met her.

In addition to being a teacher, I am the Literacy Coordinator in my school.  That just means that I have the privilege of working with teachers in their classrooms and coaching them as to how they can improve their literacy teaching.  When Mandi was an intern, I spent time in her classroom.  She is the BEST teacher I have ever observed.  Seriously.  And, it was her first year of teaching.  I was talking about Mandi one day to a coworker.  I got a bit teared up as I expressed what a wonderful, loving teacher Mandi was.   

I have learned a lot from her.  She speaks softly to her students.  Her students love her.  She is an excellent teacher who knows which teaching is "best practice" for her students.  She is just barely bigger than her first graders but her giant heart full of love makes up for her size.

Aside from her excellence in teaching, she is a great friend.  She is fun, smart, adorable, and friendly to everyone.  Her husband is cute too.  I'm pretty sure that their new arrival (coming soon) will be absolutely adorable.  And I have no doubt that Mandi will make an excellent mother. 

I'm lucky to have Mandi as my next door neighbor.  I like her a lot.