Corey
Corey Spinosi
5 T H - G R A D E T E AC H E R AT OA K V I E W
E L E M E N TA RY I N FA I R FA X , VA
8-year teaching veteran
Nominated by Sheila Bartley:
“Mr. Spinosi is beloved by both students and
parents. He is positive, kind, creative and
effective. I have watched my son grow into an
engaged learner within the last few months,
thanks in no small part to the efforts of Mr.

Spinosi. His students come to school excited
to learn and listen every day.”
“I just recently discovered that Mr. Spinosi
was a key supporter of our school’s “Eagle’s
Nest” program. In an effort to build our
school community across all grades, we
have breakout sessions where kids from
every grade level meet up and discuss an
issue or topic, led by classroom teachers
and counselors. I love that Mr. Spinosi
looks at the entire school community and
helps facilitate change and improvement
well beyond his own classroom door. He is
a wonderful example to our students and a
great advocate for our school community.”
What originally got you interested in teaching?
My passion for teaching began when I
was a child. You would often fi nd me
playing school with the younger kids on
my street and I was the teacher. In ele-
mentary school, I always volunteered to
help my teachers doing whatever they
asked of me. I feel my elementary school
teachers were all responsible in inspiring
me to become a teacher. The little things
they would do in class would excite me,
such as moving our desks around giving
us the opportunity to become friends
with everyone, passing out stickers after
a spelling test, and using their special
chalk to write on the chalkboard. I knew
very early on that one day I would want
to have my own classroom and do those
little things to excite and inspire my
own students the way my teachers did
for me. As I progressed to high school, I
was determined to become an educator
later receiving my degree in elementary
education and a minor in in special edu-
cation from Slippery Rock University
in Pennsylvania.

Why do you think teachers are important?
Teachers have an extremely import-
ant job to do. We are responsible for
preparing our students for the future.

Teachers do not just teach differ-
ent subjects and assess them on their
academic success, we are also responsi-
ble for our student’s well-being, mental
health, and making sure our students
are kind and respectful global citizens.

Teachers share many of the responsi-
bilities that our parents have. We must
know how to have control over 25 plus
students’ behaviors at one time whilst
making sure each student is feeling pos-
itive about their school day and ready
to learn. It can certainly be exhausting,
but teachers have a special inner voice
that reminds us every day that our
responsibility is to effectively prepare
our students for their future.

successful. I demonstrate patience each
day even when it gets diffi cult. It can cer-
tainly be a challenge to show patience all
day long, but I do my best and it pays off .

I not only teach but model kindness in my
classroom, as well. I teach my students to
treat everyone with kindness even when
you are upset with them. Lastly, showing
a bit of humor in my classroom is one of
the most eff ective tools in my toolbox. I
want my students to laugh while learning.

Humor gets children to be more attentive
and actively be part of their learning.

If I weren’t teaching, I’d be …
Finding some way to work with children.

Who wants to work with boring adults,
right? Children are funny, enthusiastic,
carefree, and prevent the many stressful
migraines people may have in an offi ce
full of adult workers. Camp counselor,
sports coach, full-time caretaker…one of
those might work for me!
James What’s your funniest teaching moment?
Funny teaching moments occur every
day! I am not perfect and can easily stum-
ble on my words, misspell a word on the
board, call a student by the wrong name,
and even fall out of my own chair. My
class and I learn how to laugh at ourselves
very early on in the school year.

Heading into this new school year,
what are you most excited for?
Each school year has been completely
diff erent from the previous ones. These
diff erences are because of the students. I
am most excited to meet my new class!
My students are the ones who create the
classroom each year. They design how
the classroom will look, create the rules
the room should follow, and allow their
tiny personalities begin to grow bigger
and bigger each day. The school year isn’t
about data collection, collaboration meet-
ings, or checking the constant emails that
come through. The school year is about
building connections and relationships
with our students to ensure their school
year is successful. I am excited to meet
my future class!
What are three things you use
in your classroom every day and
could never live without?
I could never live without patience,
kindness, and humor in my classroom.

External objects and routines are great,
but without these internal charac-
ter traits, my classroom would not be
James Brent
1 S T- G R A D E T E A C H E R AT T U C K A H O E
E L E M E N TA RY I N A R L I N GTO N , VA
9-year teaching veteran
Nominated by Cici Schultz:
“Mr. Brent uses humor and wit to keep their
attention. He will put on different personas,
say whole sentences using only his hands,
gives every child the benefit of the doubt and
highly praises the ‘quiet’ kids.”
What originally got you interested in teaching?
When professional sports or being a
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle didn’t
work out, I went with the next logical
occupation. I’ve always enjoyed helping
young people whether it was as a volun-
teer camp counselor for Arlington Parks
& Rec or simply doting over my younger
cousins. I was also fortunate to have
many wonderful teachers while growing
up in Arlington who helped for my pos-
itive relationship with school. I try to
WashingtonFAMILY.com 25