“Because I treat my students with dignity and respect,
in turn I find this is how they treat each other. I greet
every child each day as they walk in the door to let them
know they are special and I care about them. I teach them
how to talk to each other, how to use the appropriate words
when someone is bothering them, how to ask for things, how
to use their manners and all appropriate social skills.
If someone is having a hard day, I take that child aside
and talk to him or her. We talk about how we can work together
to help them have a better day. I do not believe in yelling
at children or belittling a child, as that traumatizes them
and then they can’t learn. If they like me and respect
me, and know that I love them and care about them, their
confidence will increase and they will be more motivated
to learn. I want the children to be life-long learners,
feel pride in their accomplishments, and feel safe and happy
at school.”
“(W)e need to fully fund early childhood programs
so all children enter school ready to learn, and our state
will benefit from successful, educated citizens in its workforce.
We want all of our children in Arizona to be fully participating
productive members of society. Early childhood experts over
the past 20 years have been telling us that all children
greatly benefit from quality early education programs. New
research on early brain development tells us that during
the first three years of life, what children learn and the
experience in the home, neighborhood, and in childcare are
the determining factors for the child’s intellectual
and emotional development. These experiences will also affect
how well they will perform in school and in life. All children
deserve to get off to a good start.”
The Principal at Andalucia Primary School says, “For
the past two years, 92% of the students in Ms. Sandberg’s
class have scored at first grade level on the Success for
All Reading inventory. This may sound like a simple feat
until you hear the rest of the statistics on the boys and
girls at Andalucia Primary. One hundred percent of our children
are at the poverty level. Eighty percent are English Language
learners. Thirty percent of our students move in or out
of our school each year. You can clearly see why we are
so proud of the number of readers coming out of Ms. Sandberg’s
class.”
Ms. Sandberg earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary and
Special Education from Arizona State University and her Master
of Science degree in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona
University. Ms. Sandberg has been teaching for 28 years.
