Heather Wood

Tell us why you became a teacher

When I went to college, I realized the thing I missed most from home was working with kids. I entered the teacher ed. program at Pepperdine University and was inspired and challenged by my professors to think critically about classrooms, schools and the education system in general. I graduated in the recession in 2010 when finding a job was very hard, but I stuck with it. 15 years later I’m so glad I did and I work in the best community with diverse scholars who love learning and inspire me.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I started working at my current school when at 33 weeks pregnant. My first grade class was TOUGH. My school was unable to find a long term sub for my leave. Multiple teachers tried to come in and ended up quitting. I worried about those kids every day. When I came back, we reset and built relationships. They finally had consistency. We did hard things. At the end of the year, their scores were awesome. Most importantly their confidence soared. I will never forget that class as long as I teach.

What would you do with the $25,000?

Honestly, I would like to pay off debt from having a baby within the last two years. Being a parent and teacher is expensive. My classroom budget is about $100 a year. I try very hard to be frugal with my classroom purchases, but I also want my students to have the best. It would be used to fill in the gaps our school budget doesn’t cover. I’d also like to do something nice for my partner teachers. There is nothing like having a grade level team that supports me the way they do.