Teacher Tuesday Winner Really Makes a Difference [VIDEO]

When I go through Teacher Tuesday nomination emails, I'm looking for energy.

I want to feel the energy of the positive influence the teacher is having on the kids. You'd be surprised at how much more it sticks out in some than others.

When I came across this one, though, I knew it was a one.

It is the 2nd year that my son is in Ms. Jeanna Dolezal’s Cottonwood Plains Elementary Class. We would like to nominate 5th grade teacher Ms. Dolezal for "Teacher Tuesday" for several reasons. First of all, she looks "outside the box" to find ways to keep students (specifically boys) engaged in learning. She does so by providing exercise balls for the students to sit on (as opposed to standard student chairs). She allows boys, who tend to have more energy or have a tendency to fidget, the opportunity to put their excessive energy to use. Further, she wrote a letter to Kaiser Permanente and received a grant to purchase "The Walking Classroom", a set of audio Walk Kits that allows students to listen to standards-based audio lessons while they exercise. This allows student to get exercise and focus on fitness while learning. Again, this is a benefit to our active son, who likes the ability to learn outside of the classroom. Ms. Dolezal was involved in creati ng more opportunities for students to participate in additional field trips, allowing them hands-on learning experiences. In addition to her creative lesson plans & classroom environment for students, Ms. Dolezal is the only teacher at Cottonwood Plains that is savvy enough to provide a link to her own classroom material. This link on the school website allows her students and parents an opportunity to keep up to date on assignments and course material. She also provides her personal cell phone to students and allows them to text or call her with any questions at any time. When she is not teaching and preparing for lessons, she volunteers her time- every Tues morning- as the leader of Pride (students council). Ms. Dolezal's leaderships skills, passion, energy and compassion for all her students make her the best teacher my son has had as a student at Cottonwood Elementary school.