For over a decade Beverly Davis has helped to shape the educational experience of some of the smallest students at Peetz Elementary.
“Mrs. Davis is an exceptional teacher and person. Her expertise in kindergarten education is such an asset to our school and community,” said the Peetz School staff in their Crystal Apple Award nomination.
They note that Peetz’s kindergartners consistently score above the state and national norms because her tenacity in reaching every student where they are at.
“Her use of positive reinforcements drive our students both academically and social emotionally. Her 12 years of dedication to our school and students has been a blessing over the years,” said the Peetz staff.
Now in her 13th year at Peetz, Davis did not start teaching full-time until her own children were in elementary. Prior to coming to Peetz, she taught at Lorenzo, Neb., during the last year that school was open and at Trinity Lutheran Preschool, in Sterling.
Teaching has become somewhat of a family career, as her twin sister also teaches kindergarten, in Greeley, though they didn’t plan it that way. For Davis, she decided to go into the education field because she enjoys working with kids, but also because she wanted the flexibility to be at home with her own kids during the summer months and to help out on the family’s farm.
“I just love seeing the growth in kids, seeing how much they grasp,” she said. “One of the biggest joys in teaching is definitely seeing the ‘light bulb’ turn on for a student who is working on learning a new skill.”
Davis has enjoyed teaching at Peetz because of its location close to her home and the school’s small class size as well as the leadership. She is especially excited to have a really supportive administration this year with Principal Mike Forster and Superintendent Jeff Durbin.
She loves the kindergarten age because “they’re like little sponges” and you can always count on them for a good chuckle.
“All of the little funny things that they say, it’s just neat to see what comes out of their mouths. Never a dull moment,” Davis said.
She does her best to keep class time fun and even keeps up with her students after they leave kindergarten. One of her favorite activities is gifting her students with a candy bar when they become taller than she is. With Davis standing at just 4”10’ that doesn’t take long, “usually second, third, fourth grade they get a candy bar, so that’s always fun. “
One of the things that is important to her is being able to reach students wherever they are at in their learning.
“We have a great preschool, but you’re always going to have different levels and you work with that. Each kid has their own passions, so it’s neat to dig in and find their passions and help them learn using those,” Davis said.
Parent communication is also very important for her. She does her best to always stay in contact with parents; including writing a weekly newsletter and letting them know about the funny little things their child has done in class or what they can work on with them.
“I just feel like parents are their first teacher and I can only taken them so far, but if parents are backing them up it’s just amazing how far they can go,” Davis said.