One of the many new teachers of Salisbury Elementary School, Kathryn Schroeder is a hard working first year teacher ready to prove herself and show what she has been working for since she was little

Who does she love the most? Her students. 

“I really enjoyed working with kids since I was little,” said Schroeder.

Schroeder is a 23-year-old first year, fourth grade teacher at SES. She recently graduated from the University of Vermont. She said she worked extremely hard to become a teacher and she loves what she is doing. 

She first started out working at a library when she was in college so she could get used to working with children. When she started to get the hang of working with children she started observing teachers and classes and quickly started transitioning into one herself, but it has been a steep learning curve. 

“I was in college when I decided I really wanted to become a teacher,” said Schroeder in a recent interview. As a student at the University of Vermont she went into college not knowing exactly what she wanted to do and came out with a passion for teaching. 

She became a librarian, working with young kids during her time in college doing activities, occasionally helping them with homework, and much more before she started to observe classrooms. Schroeder mentioned that she loved creating activities for the kids. After this, she graduated a month early in December and went on to observe a third grade classroom in January. 

She then went on and taught in a third grade classroom as a long-term substitute at the school she is currently teaching at. Schroeder didn’t even know if she would be able to get a place at the school as a long-term substitute or even a teacher. 

“This changes yearly depending on open positions,” said SES Principal Kathryn Dawe when asked how many people she hires yearly and how often the number changes.

“I was constantly doing school,” stated Schroeder. With doing school around the clock, she was able to load up on credits, therefore being able to graduate earlier than the rest. 

Graduating early was a result of her hard work. 

Not only was she taking extra classes, she was also working outside of her classes. Instead of being in clubs or sports during her time in college she worked. “No I worked a lot, it was just a lot of working in college,” said Schroeder when asked what she did outside of her classes.

Schroeder mentioned continuously the learning, learning curves, and challenges that come with being an elementary school teacher.  

“I mean it’s really just a learning curve learning how to teach kids and making sure you are going at the right pace and you meet all the kids’ needs,” she said when she was asked if there were any specific changes she has had to overcome in her first few months of teaching. 

So in her class, not only are the students learning new things, the teacher is learning too.

“I’ve definitely learned a ton in these past couple months,” stated Schroeder