Sabra Norris chose education as a major in college, not realizing it would be her career.

“I knew after my first education course that I wanted to be a teacher,” she says. “To be honest, I just picked a major when I entered college.”

After that first class, she was hooked.

Norris teaches fourth, fifth and sixth grade special education at Elsanor Elementary School. She teaches inclusion and resource groups for math and ELA. This is Norris’ first year teaching.

Her favorite aspect of teaching is the personal relationships that Norris is able to build with her students.

“I’m a special education teacher, so naturally I love working closely with other teachers and team teaching,” Norris says.

Norris was homeschooled first through fifth grade, so she never actually set foot into an elementary school until her student teaching residency.

“I didn’t always know I wanted to be a teacher,” she says. “I was, however, inspired by my 10th grade English teacher, Mrs. Marks. It was her first year teaching and I will always remember how compassionate and enthusiastic she was.”

Outside of the lesson plan, Norris hopes her students learn two things.

“I hope they learn how to love people and how to love life,” she says.

TEACHER PROFILE

NAME: Sabra Norris

SCHOOL: Elsanor Elementary School

SUBJECT(S) TAUGHT: fourth, fifth and sixth grade special education

SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT YOURSELF: When I was in fifth grade I lived in Mexico for a month to study at a language institute. I traveled there with my aunt and we stayed with a family from there.