WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — A+ Teacher Alyssa Kato says that spending time with her students and building relationships with them at Winter Springs Elementary School brings her joy.
She says she was born to teach.
Whether Kato is acting the playful part of an evil scientist on video for her students or slipping on a lab coat in person for their science lesson, she says her goal is to make learning fun and memorable.
Kato loves teaching fourth-graders and says her school is a very special place.
“We have so much heart here,” she says. “Our school is truly like a small family, and we all love each other and support each other so much.”
For Kato, her career in teaching is personal.
“My grandmother was also a teacher in the Philippines as well, and she left such a big impact on her community,” Kato says. “And so, I really just feel like I was born to do this.”
Kato grew up playing school, but that lifelong dream is now a reality.
“Education never stops. We’re lifelong learners,” she says. “I know that I learn something new every day just being here in the classroom with these amazing fourth-graders. I learn so much from them — probably more than they might learn from me.”
Kato says she hopes her students will never forget their time in her class.
“I hope that they just remember coming to school and having the time of their lives,” she says. “And knowing that there’s someone that’s on their side and is always rooting for them.”