February 2020 | #IAMSHAKER Employee Spotlight: Wendy Lewis
Last month, local radio personality Incognito (from the Z107.9 Posted on the Corner show) came to Woodbury Elementary School to honor veteran Woodbury teacher Wendy Lewis with a Teacher of the Week award! While Mrs. Lewis was surprised, we weren’t—Mrs. Lewis is a kind, supportive teacher with a sense of humor that her students appreciate. Read more about Mrs. Lewis in this month’s #IAMSHAKER Employee Spotlight:
How long have you been with the District?
I came here right out of college from Bowling Green 26 years ago. I was the 23-year-old teacher with the rose tattoo on her ankle and I remember my students used to draw their own tattoos on their ankles! I taught fourth grade at Onaway for three years, and then I’ve been at Woodbury for the past 23 years. I’ve taught fifth and sixth grade here.
What's your favorite part about teaching at Woodbury?
My favorite part is the age of the kids that I teach. They’re just so much fun. That, and the friendships I have with my colleagues because so many of us have been together for so long. We have this closeness that’s like a sisterhood and a brotherhood. Every day, I get up and this is still what I want to do. I want to come to work every day.
Who are the people who inspired you?
I went to Boulevard Elementary School in Cleveland Heights and I still remember Mrs. Clegget, my fifth grade teacher. There was something about her—the way that she taught and the way that she took an interest in me—that I remember thinking to myself, “I could be just like Mrs. Clegget standing in front of my own classroom someday.” And then at Heights High, I had Mrs. Ballard for English. I saw the way that she built relationships with her students and that confirmed it for me. I knew that I wanted to be a teacher.
Professionally, my mentor here was Joan Servis. When I was a young teacher, she really instilled in me that all kids are teachable and you’re here to change their lives. And she helped me to understand that when it comes to good teachers, you either have it or you don’t. She meant that there are things you can learn to be a better teacher, but there are also things that you just need to instinctively know in order to be a good teacher. I appreciated that advice.
If you could have done any other career, what would it have been?
I definitely would have been a nurse. I come from a family of nurses and medical professionals. We laugh because my friends here at Woodbury call me Dr. Lewis—they’re always coming to me asking what something is and most of the time I know because I’ve been listening to medical people for my whole life!
What do you think about the new team structure at Woodbury this year?
I love the new team structure and the focus on one subject. Of course we felt like a team before when we were in pairs, but this is a different dynamic. We have a good mix of teachers on our teams: we’ve mixed experience with young, so it’s really strong. And at first, I was worried about having 100 kids, not from a grading standpoint, but from forming relationships with 100 kids. Then school started and after the first few weeks, we were all like, “This is gonna be OK.” I can identify something unique about each of my 100 kids.
What's your guilty pleasure?
This is so embarrassing, but I love wholesale clubs! I have memberships to BJs, Sams, and Costco. When my kids were little, I used to take them at sample time. There are certain things I buy at each of the stores… I just love them.
What’s the last book you read?
My daughter plays travel softball, so I’ve been reading "The Boys in the Boat" with her. We’re working through it together. And I just finished "Monday’s Not Coming" by Tiffany Jackson. It’s a book about the epidemic of missing black girls not being found by the police. I read a lot of books to see if they’re ones that I should recommend to my students. So for "Monday’s Not Coming", I would say that it’s more for students in grades 7 or 8 and up.
What’s your favorite song and why?
Well, I was a Heights High grad, so for sure, it’s Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger. When I hear that song, it just takes me back to high school and fills me with good feelings.