Patrice Powell McCrary

Kindergarten/First Grade, Cumberland Trace Elementary School, Bowling Green, Kentucky

Total years as a classroom teacher: 20

EDUCATION

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

• Ms. McCrary has four promises she makes to the parents of her students each year: “I promise I will be the kind of teacher for your child that I would want for my own, I will never raise my voice with your child, I will value the trust you have in me to care about your child’s academic, emotional, and social needs, and your child will learn with joy.”
• Ms. McCrary’s classroom is organized and maintained by her students. She says that from day one the procedure of mutual respect, a sense of responsibility, and having choice in a save environment begins to take shape in this kindergarten world.

“Ms. McCrary is a builder…a real role model who is focused on the strengths of children rather than weakness. She loves children, they love her, and you can ‘see’ it when you walk into her classroom. She is always laughing, talking or listening to children, and always caring for children. She is a ‘master’ primary teacher who serves the ‘total child,’ not just the ‘academic parts.’”

Dale Brown, Superintendent

“Mrs. McCrary is highly creative and innovative. Every moment is an opportunity for learning in her classroom. Her students survey the office to see if we have digital or analog clocks and a rain shower becomes a lesson on the water cycle. She writes songs to reinforce concepts, leads cheers to teach letters and sounds, and invites children to be Word Detectives and Punctuation Police as they read and write. She uses technology to bring the world into her classroom as she connects her students to students in other towns, states, and countries.”

Mary Evans, Principal