For Chelsea Schexnaydre, a sixth grade English teacher at Harry Hurst Middle School, mentoring new teachers is sacred work.
“What I mean by that is it’s important to train, recruit, and nurture the upcoming generation of educators,” Schexnaydre said. “Mentoring new teachers is such a special and important job that I do not take lightly. I hope to instill my passion for teaching in each of my mentees.”
Since her certification as a mentor teacher in 2022, Schexnaydre has mentored four resident teachers.
“It’s one of the most rewarding parts of my career,” she said. “I love teaching and am deeply passionate about it, and mentoring someone who is just starting reignites my passion for education every year.”
Schexnaydre, who was the 2023 Teacher of the Year for Harry Hurst Middle School, said she works closely with a resident teacher throughout the school year, meeting after school for one to two hours once a week, or more if needed. During these mentoring sessions, the resident walks through their upcoming lessons.
“This allows them to read and internalize the material and to design or adapt their own activities and classroom management strategies,” Schexnaydre said. “Though it is a lot of work, watching residents grow into capable teachers reminds me that my actions are still shaping the future of education.”
Schexnaydre has been a teacher for eight years. She has her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Northwestern State University and a master’s degree in educational leadership in technology, also from Northwestern State University. She started her teaching journey in the parish at R.J. Vial Elementary teaching third grade. She joined the faculty at Harry Hurst seven years ago.
“I always thought that elementary teaching was my calling,” Schexnaydre said. “The idea of teaching middle school was a little daunting because middle schoolers have a bad rap – they are at this very challenging transitional age, which a lot of people shy away from. I decided to welcome the challenge and have been teaching middle school for seven years now, and I love it.”
At an early age, Schexnaydre knew she had a knack for teaching.
“I remember always being compassionate towards my classmates who were struggling,” she said.
When she was in middle school, she noticed that one of her classmates was struggling and partnered with him during group work. Her teachers recognized the impact she had on the other student and began placing the two next to each other in other classes.
“I saw that even as a sixth grader, I made a difference for him, and I realized that maybe I really could be a teacher,” she said.
Schexnaydre was also inspired by her mom, who taught in St. James Parish.
“I often saw her former students find her in the grocery store and say how she had positively impacted their lives,” she said. “I realized early on that not many professions have that kind of lasting effect, but teaching does. I knew I wanted to have that same kind of positive impact on others.”
Schexnaydre also plays an integral role in the sixth-grade English Language Arts Professional Learning Team at Harry Hurst. The group consists of five other members, including two general education teachers, an inclusion special education teacher, the assistant principal, and the English Language Arts curriculum and instruction facilitator. The group meets daily to focus on what students need to learn.
“Our team comes together to review student results and share how our students performed,” she said. “We discuss class percentages and look at which questions were frequently missed. This data helps us reflect on our instruction and whether we effectively taught the skill.”
She said the group is constantly learning from one another’s expertise and thriving because of it. The group often brainstorms creative ways to address areas where students struggled.
Schexnaydre said there are many rewarding parts of her career: when a student tells her the best part of their day is her class, or when a parent tells her how much she helped their child. This year, her former students graduated high school.
“It was the first time I truly felt the impact of my hard work over the years when they came back and walked the halls before graduation,” she said. “Many of them came back to give me hugs and shared their post-graduation plans.”
Schexnaydre said she is looking forward to working with a new resident teacher, new students, and families this school year.
“It is always refreshing to get new students to see how they learn, what motivates them, and what things they enjoy,” she said.
She said she is also excited about the new English Language Arts curriculum this year.
“Education is always changing and adapting, which I find is a good thing,” she said. “It forces me as a teacher to grow and refine my skills and think of new ways to reach students. I’m really excited about the new novels: ‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind’ and a fan favorite, ‘Hidden Figures.’ These novels are going to be exciting. I think kids will connect with them because of the everyday themes they can easily connect with.”
