Meet the Teacher Advisory Council: Heidi Sansone of Carmel ES!

The Cherokee County School District’s newly formed Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council provides educators with the opportunity to share valued feedback.  The talent of our teachers is unparalleled and their dedication to go the extra mile is unmatched!  Over the coming weeks, we'll be introducing each Council member to our community.  You can learn more about the Council and see the full list of its members online here.

Heidi Sansone of Carmel Elementary School
A 15-year educator, Ms. Sansone teaches second grade at Carmel ES. She was called to teaching as a second career after a career working in finance on Wall Street, and joined CCSD as a supportive instruction paraprofessional. Ms. Sansone served in that role for three years before becoming a first-grade teacher in 2014, and "looped" to second grade this school year to stay with her students another year.

What inspired you to become a teacher?
After spending 12 years working on Wall Street, I had an “aha” moment when my 2-year-old daughter picked up her favorite book and “read” it to her baby sister. She had that book read to her so many times, that it was instilled in her memory, and I witnessed her capacity for learning. I was spending far too many hours away from my family and that single moment made me realize that I wanted more from my life than just a nice paycheck – I wanted to make a difference.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?
I will never get tired of “that” moment when a student “gets it” after working tirelessly on a particular skill. I love to see the twinkle in their eyes and the joy on their face when they realize that their own effort and determination have led them to their own success. Learning can be difficult for so many students, and when I have the opportunity to celebrate students’ hard work alongside them, there simply isn’t a more rewarding feeling.

How do you elevate the excellence in your classroom?
Relationship building with my students is incredibly important to me. Rita Pierson once said, "Kids don't learn from people they don't like," and it really stuck with me. I do everything I can to connect with my students so that they do like me, and to meet them where they need to be met. We have fun together, and my students feel safe and comfortable in their pursuit of learning. They begin to push themselves to reach their own goals, so we can celebrate them together. I don’t have “one rule," because every student is different and each one learns differently. Keeping my classroom flexible, supporting my students with what they do both in and outside of the classroom, and allowing them to make choices about how they learn, helps to support long-lasting relationships that extend beyond the time they spent inside my classroom.

#CCSDElevateTheExcellence