Teacher Guru Spotlight: Kathy Landry

Every once in a while you come across that teacher that every parent wants their child to have and every teacher wants to be like. For us, that teacher is Kathy Landry.

For nearly 20 years Kathy Landry has been teaching, mentoring and inspiring children, parents, and other teachers who have worked along side her.
We are excited to feature Kathy Landry in our Teacher Guru Spotlight.

From Arielle: 

I remember when I was a new teacher back in 2006 and Kathy was my mentor teacher.  As a mentor, Kathy was always offering her help and diminishing the stress of a first year kindergarten teacher.  Many teachers look to Kathy as a work mom.  She's that person you can go to after a rough day, and you know she will make it all better.
  A quote by Charles Dickens comes to mind when I think of Kathy and her relationship with not only those she mentors but all teachers in her sphere of influence:

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another."

For my 6 years teaching down the hall from Kathy I lost count of all the times she offered a word of encouragement, offered to take my class for a bit, or just gave me a great new idea about how to reach a student.

Kathy engages her students everyday through music.  The kids have a wonderful time singing, dancing, and playing instruments to help them learn everything from their letter sounds to the days of the week and months of the year.  These days many private preschools boast of doing yoga in the classroom, Kathy was doing Yoga with her class long before it was cool.   Being a terrific artist, Kathy draws some amazing images on the dry erase board to add as a visual to words for children who have not yet learned to read. 
  Kathy is the ultimate early childhood guru.  Even today I know if I have a question about the development of my kids or need a great idea about how to teach them, she is an amazing resource and encourager!

From Cynthia:

  I was privileged to work with Kathy for nearly 10 years. She was and still is a staple of the school she works at. Kathy is someone who always had her door open to all who needed teaching advice, a place to vent, art supplies, and a microwave!

  Some of my fondest memories of teaching is everyone huddling up in Kathy's room sharing laughs, celebrating baby showers, or the place you ran to for a few minutes of peace at the end of  crazy day. Pretty soon after talking to Kathy and whoever else migrated to her room, you realized you weren't alone and that we were all in it together. Among her many great qualities that Arielle mentioned, I think one of her best qualities is being so diplomatic and the voice of reason when we needed it. Her ability to be a calm spirit was a major reason so many teachers gravitate towards her for guidance.

  Even now, Kathy remains someone I go to when I need good ideas for teaching pre-schoolers or figuring out how to tweak activities to make them better and more effective.

Kathy, thanks for all that you are to us! You're truly an inspiration.

Do you have a special story about how Kathy has influenced you or your family? We'd love to hear from you.