Teacher uses love of literacy to coach kids

Editor's note: This is one in a series profiling local educators each week.

After moving from the classroom to a more intimate setting where she works with small groups of students, Brown Early Childhood Center kindergarten reading coach Lynne Walker has been able to compound her love of literacy even further.

"A reading coach is able to work with small groups of kiddos that either struggle, and I also have a small group of kiddos who need that advancement. We have lots of kindergartners coming in who know their letters and know their sounds, and they're ready to read," she said.

She also conducts training programs for parents and teachers, a duty she said lets her experience "the best of both worlds."

Originally from Socorro, Walker has been teaching for 23 years, 12 of which she has spent at BECC.

What is the biggest lesson you have learned from your fellow teachers?

Being a team player, definitely. In this building in particular, we are more than colleagues; we're a family. When you're able to go into the different classrooms and you are able to freely share ideas, strategies, techniques - everyone learns from that. We're just a great team here, and I think that's important. No one feels like they're singled out. We've had some tragedies this year, and our staff has worked through it and we have been there for each other.

What do you enjoy about teaching children at such a young age?

That you get to make lifelong impressions on those kiddos, and you are some of the first experiences of school that these kids get to experience. Making it a positive one is important. We're blessed with those that have some pre-school experience, but it's the young kiddos, and making sure we're able to give help to the families if we've got kids that are struggling, or give help to the parents of kids who are advanced and need a little bit of a challenge. Just being able to help the kids themselves; oh my goodness, they are the best. They're lovable, and they're like a sponge. They're just ready to learn. You don't get that at every grade.

What has teaching taught you about yourself?

That I am an overachiever. If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it 110 percent. I do spend a little more time than the average educator, but I love it. It doesn't seem like work to me. It just drives me.

How have you grown as a teacher since you began?

Definitely, the experiences of being in the classroom have been the greatest things that I feel I've grown through. I've had some wonderful peer teachers that have mentored me, and I've been able to take that information and share it with other teachers. I definitely feel I've become more confident and very knowledgeable in early reading skills.

- Compiled by Staff Writer Eamon Scarbrough