Lori McClure

Tell us why you became a teacher

As a chid school was hard. I did not learn to read till grade 2 when I had the most amazing teacher support me. All my elementary teachers put their heart and soul into what they did and you could see the love they had and shared. I started doing science presentations to elementary schools and visiting the same classes and seeing the little impact I had, I wanted more. I went back to school to get my teaching degree and wanted to be able to share what I had when I was little.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

When I first started in a grade 2/3 classroom. My class was 93% immigrants to the country. Language was a barrier, food, clothing, even safety was a challenge. The students came to school for love, safety and food. Learning was not priority. After the students felt safe with me learning began. I remember one little guy, he went from not reading to wanting to have 30 minutes every day with me. On the last day he was so sad, but he is was so proud that he could read!

What would you do with the $25,000?

Pay off some bills and then put some into my classroom. My students are our future and they deserve to learn and have successes beyond what the public system gives them.