Teacher of the Year

Kelsea Linnell K-8 Literacy Intervention Teacher Elk Hills School Elk Hills School District

Kelsea Linnell is an innovative and dynamic instructor of nearly 20 years who takes the time to understand the progress of each of her students and adapts instruction to meet their individual needs. Kelsea’s leadership skills have been highlighted this year, as she coordinated, designed, and implemented a new literacy intervention program from the ground up and took on the lead role in the effort to shift the climate and culture around reading. As a result of Kelsea’s data and research-based practices, every grade level has demonstrated improvement in literacy.

Kelsea has also focused on integrating activities and events that highlight reading as an important and enjoyable activity. For example, Kelsea created a “book tasting” event, which included decorating a room to look like an outdoor cafe with flowers, candles, tablecloths, string lights, and music. She then selected books from a wide variety of genres for students to “taste” at each table. After reading a small sample of each book, students wrote down the titles of books they would like to further explore. Students were excited and engaged as they let themselves open up to books they’d never read before.