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About Monica Breaux

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My name is Monica Breaux. I am 34 years old and in my fourth year of teaching. I started college when my oldest son started kindergarten and my youngest son was two years old. I graduated in May of 1999 from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, with a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education and am currently working on a master of reading degree at Nicholls State. I am certified to teach grades 1-8.

I did my student teaching at Southdown Elementary School in Houma, Louisiana, in a transitional first grade classroom. I was released from my student teaching responsibilities two weeks early in order to take over a first grade classroom across the hall, whose teacher had quit some weeks earlier. I have been in that same classroom ever since -- and all 3 ½ years of my teaching experience has been in first grade.

At the beginning of my second year teaching, I was voted Teacher of the Year for Southdown Elementary. A few weeks later, I was named one of three finalists for Terrebonne Parish Teacher of the Year. Although I didn't win the parish competition, being named a finalist was the biggest honor a new teacher could have. The entire experience was an extremely rewarding and gratifying one for me.

Southdown Elementary, an urban school located in a business district on the corner of a heavily traveled intersection, has a population of approximately 500 students. The school's ethnic makeup is approximately 79 percent black, 19 percent white, 1 percent Native American, .6 percent Asian, and .4 percent Hispanic; about 93 percent of students live at or below the poverty level.

This year, I have 17 students, including one who is performing way above grade level. My class also includes three special education students (two of whom stay with me most of the day and one who is pulled out for most of the day), two students who will possibly be tested for special education, two repeaters, and one student who receives 504 accommodations.

Despite the low socioeconomic status of Southdown School, I have to say that it's a wonderful place to teach. My students are so loving and receptive to my philosophy and style of teaching. And the results of their successes can be seen by improving ITBS (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills) scores. Last year, my class as a whole scored in the average range in almost every area tested. My class composite showed that this class scored in the 50th percentile or higher in most of those areas. I was very pleased and proud of that accomplishment.