Olivia Laizer, a first-grade teacher at St. Rose Elementary, knew before she graduated with a degree in early childhood education from Southeastern Louisiana University that she wanted to teach in St. Charles Parish.
“They’re the best,” Laizer said. “And who doesn’t want to work with the best?”
After completing her teaching residency at St. Rose Elementary, Laizer was hired there for a full-time position. And in December 2024, she won St. Charles Parish Public School’s New Teacher of the Year award. She will now compete with other first-year teachers for the title of Louisiana’s New Teacher of the Year.
Superintendent Ken Oertling surprised Laizer in her classroom in December with the news.
“I immediately started sobbing because in my head it was already going to somebody else,” Laizer said. “So, it just took me back and surprised me, truly.”
Laizer was one of five new teachers selected for an interview after achieving high observation scores and submitting an essay and teaching statement. But when a cameraman and assistant principal walked into her classroom in December, Laizer believed them when they said they were taking pictures for the district website.
“Then all of the sudden I saw my kids’ faces and I thought ‘somethings off’,” Laizer said. “And I turned around and there was Dr. Oertling with the flowers.”
For Laizer, it was a moment of pride.
“Everybody puts in hard work as an educator, but sometimes it’s nice for other people to see the hard work,” Laizer said. “For somebody to say, ‘hey we see all the hard work and the effort you’re putting in for your students,’ it felt really nice.”
Laizer said the most challenging thing about teaching is the various roles teachers must fill.
“You’re not just a teacher,” Laizer said. “Someday you’re a hairstylist, or you go get snacks for kids who need it. Somedays you’re a counselor. You can’t teach them math if they don’t know how to control their frustration or anger. You can’t teach them to read if they don’t know how to talk to their partner.”
Laizer contributes her first-year success to her team, who she said creates a supportive environment to bounce ideas off each other.
“Your community as an educator changes how you view problems,” Laizer said. “If I am struggling with a student, my team isn’t like ‘oh well that’s your student.’ No, they’re our students, so we put our heads together to brainstorm what things might work for them, to get them more involved in the learning.”
Laizer said the breakthroughs with students – when something clicks in their brains, and they build a love of learning and their confidence – are what motivates her.
“One student this year – reading is not his thing, he loves math,” Laizer said. “We were building words with letter cards, and I threw in a word that was a little bit above his level just to see how he would handle it. I just saw him light up when he recognized he could catch his own mistake. I saw his confidence build. Seeing him build that love of learning was awesome.”
Laizer also said her mentor teacher at St. Rose, Robynn Melan, inspires her to go above and beyond for her students, even if she feels a little funny or silly.
“She is that ‘yes’ person,” Laizer said. “She runs our pep rallies, she dressed up as a Christmas tree, and she bought an Elf on the Shelf costume to make the kids’ day. Those little things that she always thinks about has inspired me.”
Laizer also said St. Rose Elementary set her up for success.
“From day 1 in residency we did all the same training as the teachers did,” Laizer said. “So, it set you up for being knowledgeable – you knew what was expected of you and what to expect.”
Laizer, whose mom is a teacher in Jefferson Parish, said she used to love helping her mom decorate her classroom.
“As I got older, I just always loved teaching kids different things,” Laizer said. “To me, so many things in this world can be taken from you – your possessions and even people can come and go – but your critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, communication – no one can take that from you. So, to give kids those tools – those life skills for them to be successful – it’s the coolest job in the world”
