Nellie Stone Johnson, Kindergarten

Minneapolis Public Schools

I helped my students achieve outstanding academic growth!

Keys to My Teaching Success

Love. Relationships. Consistency. High Expectations. 

Love what you do and who you do it with. I love my students (my "littles") with all my heart. I have strong relationships and work hand in hand with their families. I'm also consistent from day to day. I have high expectations that every child can meet. If a little person doesn't understand what I present, I just need to find a way to tap into their learning style.

Who or What Inspires Me

My inspiration is simply to do better. I can always improve even after 37 years in the classroom. Everyone's learning style is different. My job is to find the key that opens each little person's door to learning. Sometimes I just need to dig deeper in my pockets to find the right key. 

What I Love About Our School

Nellie Stone Johnson is a family. Everybody knows everybody. Problems are solved together. We have fabulous support from the North side and and lots of Jaguar pride. Staff work together. My administration rocks. Great students and parents. We're a good team.

What I Tell My Students

The power of yet. Instead of "I can't do it." My students say "I can't do it yet." Because they've discovered they're capable of learning anything in time.

We also talk about the Twins and Vikings doing push-ups every day. We practice some things day after day - it's not fun but it makes us stronger and more powerful.