Michelle Turner creates a positive learning environment in her Delavan classroom
People Who Matter
Click here to view all of the stories from The Gazette's "People Who Matter" series.
Photo
Michelle Turner
Michelle Turner
Family: Husband, Mike Turner; three sons, Nate, Zach and Seth; two daughters-in-laws, Andrea, who is married to Nate, and Rebekah, who is married to Zach; and two grandchildren, Lauren, 4 and Reilly, 9 months.
Community: The family lives on a small farm in rural Delavan.
How long she's been teaching: She started with fifth grade in Eagle in 1974 and later moved to third grade. After taking time off to raise her children, she returned as a gifted and talented paraprofessional at Lakeview School, Whitewater. She remained there for 11 years before becoming a fourth-grade teacher at Turtle Creek in 2003.
Pets: The family has an Australian Shepherd named Rascal, a Russian tortoise named Franklin, a rabbit named Oliver, and a variety of barn cats that have adopted the family.
Favorite books for children: "Ah, there are many," Turner said. "We live in such a rich culture of children's books."
"The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate DiCamillo is one of her favorites.
Other favorites include "Thank You Mr. Falker" by Patricia Polacco, "The Teacher's Funeral, A comedy in Three Parts" by Richard Peck, "Granny Torrelli Makes Soup" by Sharon Creech, the "Shakespeare Can Be Fun" series by Lois Burdett, "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg and "too many others to list."
Hobbies: Reading children's books, working out at the gym with my husband, coaching Destination Imagination Teams and watching British comedies on PBS
What I am reading now: "How Shakespeare Changed Everything" by Stephen Marche, "Escape From Verona, Romeo and Juliet Part Two: The Lost Diary of Juliet Montague" by David Gray.
What music I listen to: Wynton Marsalis, Laura Nyro, Phoebe Snow, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, classical, opera.
What music I play in the classroom: Beatles, classical, National Geographic's music from around the world, Buena Vista Social Club, Frank Montano's Native American Flute Music.
Mentors or inspiration: "I have always found the teaching of Maria Montessori inspirational, as well as Marva Collins and Albert Cullum."
Her personal mentor, however, is Jan Berezowitz, the former gifted and talented district coordinator in Whitewater.
"She not only had a tremendous impact on my professional career, but my personal life, as well," Turner said. "I will forever be grateful to her for so many things."
Relevancy, rigor, relationships.
That's Michelle Turner's formula for classroom success.
The first two parts make her sound like a tough old bird, a teacher with a sharp tongue and eyes in the back of her head.
The third part of the formula seems so much softer than the first, something nebulous and touchy-feely that won't work well with the first two.
But for Turner, a fourth-grade teacher at Turtle Creek Elementary in Delavan, relationships translate into classroom success.
Every year before school starts, Turner tries to visit all her students in their homes, with their families. It's something she started doing her first year in the district.
"I thought, ‘I'm new to this community, and I should probably introduce myself. These people are trusting me with their children,'" Turner said.
School can be "kind of intimidating" for some families, and forming relationships with families is a way to reduce that anxiety.
In the Delavan-Darien School District, more than 77 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch, and 40 percent speak English as a second language.
Turner said she feels blessed to have Laura Prado, who works at Phoenix Middle School, to help her translate language and cultural differences.
Turner loves the diversity of at her school.
"It's such a wonderful experience," Turner said. "I don't mean to be stereotypical, but for Latino homes, family is so important. I've had several visits where grandma and grandpa were present."
Turner loves the support she gets from families, and the families and students love her back.
"I think Mrs. Turner is the best teacher I've had," Logan Flores said.
Everyday, she sits with them at lunch—she has to rotate tables so everybody gets a turn.
And when you're in her classroom, there's a sense of focused calm—not sitting-quietly-seen-and-not-heard calm, but the calm that comes from alert minds working without anxiety.
As for "rigor" and "relevancy," Turtle Creek Principal Kelly Pickel said Turner has high expectations of her students.
Every year, Turner reads the students a number of Shakespeare plays, and they pick one to perform.
Turner expects students to work through the difficult language and learn their lines, and they do.
Pickel said Turner's relationship-building skills in and out of the school make academic rigor possible.
"Mrs. Turner has built a community feeling in her classroom," Pickel said. "Students are willing to try hard, to take risks, because they know she has their back."
In Turner, Pickel sees an educator who has found the exact place in the universe she needs to be.
"Clearly, this is her calling," Pickel said.
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.