SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Several factors contributed to Jennifer Prater’s decision to trade her business-school background for a classroom, but she giggles at the most influential one.

“I know how corny it sounds, but I really do just love being around kids. Every day is so different, and it’s really amazing when you stop and think about the mixture of personalities you get in a classroom,” she said.

Prater, who spent the past six years of her 14-year career teaching at Spanish Fort Elementary School, was recently named the SFES Teacher of the Year for 2010-11. She teaches third grade.

Prater, who initially earned her bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration from the University of Alabama, worked for several years in retail as an assistant buyer but said she always felt pulled toward the classroom and specifically toward younger students.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m the youngest of four (kids), and I didn’t have a little brother or sister,” she said.

After taking the “nontraditional” route and returning to school to earn her master’s degree in early childhood education from the University of West Alabama, Prater said she taught in both Mobile and South Carolina before joining SFES six years go. During that time, she has taught kindergarten and second through fourth grades.

“Third grade is really an exciting time. They’re learning to really comprehend what they’re reading, and they’re branching out into much more difficult things like multiplication and cursive writing. There’s just so much meat to it, and we’re really hands on,” she said.

SFES Principal Becky Comer said in addition to Prater’s classroom responsibilities she serves on the School Improvement Committee and coordinates the Student of the Week program.

Prater lives in Spanish Fort with her husband, Jason; her son, John Holin, an eighth-grader at Spanish Fort Middle School; and her daughter, Jenna, an SFES third-grader.

“I really just enjoy the interaction between the students and the teacher, and this is the kind of job where you get up every day and whether it’s a good day or a bad day, you know you’ve accomplished what you set out to do when you get home. You see the progress in (the students’) faces, and you know you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing,” she said.