 2007 Award Winners
Not so long ago, if you wanted to become a teacher, after you graduated high school you majored in education at a university. But there’s a new move afoot that has people coming to teaching after starting off on very diverse paths. Tracy Fisher is part of this new breed of teacher. After studying home economics at Arizona State University, she made her way to Hollywood, where she worked steadily in film and television. “But I became disenchanted with the shallowness of it all, and started looking for something that was more real,” she says. She found an arts program for homeless children, where she began volunteering. “It humbled me,” she says, and it led her back to Chicago, where she began teaching preschool while at the same time working towards her masters in Early Childhood Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. No one watching Fisher in her State Pre-K class at CPS’ Peirce School of International Studies would be surprised to hear that she spent time in Hollywood: much of her curriculum is arts-based. She uses art, drama, and music to foster both creativity and learning. “Students may be blasting off to outer space in their cardboard space shuttle, bringing The Three Bears to life through a skit, dancing to a favorite song, or writing and drawing in their journals,” notes principal Paula Rossino. “In the spring you might find her in the Peirce garden with her nineteen students. The garden becomes a classroom. Children might be planting or watering flowers, or drawing or observing the butterflies and insects in their natural habitat.” “She allows the children to lead the learning experiences,” adds Jennifer O’Malley, whose son Eli has been in Fisher’s class for the past two years. “The children are engaged in natural and spontaneous learning.” Fisher’s unconventional background hasn’t hindered her ability to excel in her second profession, nor has it distanced her from others who have followed the more traditional route. She pursued National Board Certification in 2002, a rigorous—and expensive—process that is regarded as the highest symbol of professional teaching excellence. Since attaining the recognition, Fisher has encouraged and mentored other teachers through National Board Certification. But she clearly doesn’t consider herself on a higher level than her fellow teachers. “While other teachers stop by the class to ask questions of Tracy, she always asks for their opinions. And she asks for my opinion, too, for classroom planning,” says assistant teacher Delcy Mayorga Perez. “I am not treated as an assistant, but as an equal.” “She practices what she preaches, and she preaches what she practices,” says former Kohl McCormick Teaching Award-winner Jim Price. “Teaching isn’t just a job or an occupation for her. She celebrates learning, and celebrates living, with her students. Tracy’s whole body becomes eyes and ears during class—although she is not physically all over the place, you can feel her presence everywhere in the room. And that room is well prepared—she has thought through every aspect to make the room ready for learning. She is an outstanding example of quality early childhood education!” |
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Tracy Fisher