Sophia Scruggs

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher to give back to my community. I grew up in the south side of my town, an area known for it's bilingual, at-risk community. I wanted to do what I could to give back to children, who like myself had difficult times during childhood. I knew it was my goal to inspire children, to push them to see the best sides of themselves. As a child I struggled to see my purpose- I have made it my mission to find children with this negative mentality and help them aspire for more.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I remember buying materials and making a crime scene for my 5th graders. We had to use inferences to solve the crime, which integrated my campus principal, assistant principal, and our grade level teachers. Students had so much fun and it made it the most memorable learning for my students. To this day I receive emails from my former babies- which means the world to me.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would donate it to my campus. We have students that are bilingual, at-risk. We have McKinney Vento students who would greatly benefit from additional materials to enhance their instruction and make learning memorable. I would like to give these monies to our grade level teachers to be able to give them the tools needed to make their instruction fun and maximize student content retention.