ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 This week\u2019s A+ Teacher is embarking on her 39th year of teaching. Patty Barrett has spent 13 of those years teaching VPK at Promiseland Preschool inside First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg. She says she loves everything about helping preschoolers get ready for kindergarten.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want them to have self-help skills, independent thinking skills, I want them to be able to problem-solve. I want them to be able to figure out how to handle stressful situations,\u201d said Barrett. \u201cIf you show eagerness and excitement in your teaching, then it\u2019s contagious because then the kids are going to be eager and excited to learn what you got for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
A parent nominated Barrett to be our A+ Teacher, telling us the difference she made in her children\u2019s lives. When we visited her classroom, we heard from another parent sharing that sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s fantastic. Miss Patty is just a warm, warm person that just makes you feel instantly loved and connected, and she pours that love into her kids,\u201d said parent Carolina Brinkley.<\/p>\n
Barrett said that she feels honored to have the responsibility of caring for her students and helping them learn and grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very rewarding to hear that positive feedback. But it\u2019s also very rewarding that these parents, grandparents who are raising kids are comfortable and they know that their children are safe and sound and well taken care of in my classroom, and I look out for nothing but the best for them,\u201d said Barrett.\u00a0<\/p>\n