Teacher

Melissa Toumanian
Grade: Kindergarten
Years at Riverside Prep: 5
1. What got you into teaching? I started traveling to Asia and saw a way to make a living teaching English as a traveled. I taught English for 2.5 years and decided that I wanted to teach permanently when I moved back to the states.
2. What do you like most about teaching at Riverside Prep? I really like how there is a close-knit community at this school. Teachers are positively connected with their students.
3. What do you like most about teaching the grade level you teach? What's the biggest challenge? There's very little student drama, but I do have to work on teaching them some common sense.
4. What's your favorite moment in teaching? When I asked a student last year what her father's name was and she replied "babe."
5. What does it mean to be the Elementary School Teacher of the Month? Hopefully I have been implementing teaching strategies that are recognizable and that align with the fit model. I also hope that means that I have established a good rapport with students and staff.