Kelsey Fowler is a math whiz.
At least that's what her students say.
And through encouraging her students at Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy to believe in themselves, working problems and making mistakes alongside them, she hopes her students will become math whizzes, too.
Many of Fowler's high school students at Chattanooga's only all-girls public charter school have a lot of anxiety when it comes to math. The school has a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)-centered curriculum and pushes its students, who often come from low-performing elementary schools, to excel.
Fowler works to ensure her students will be successful though, whether in geometry or algebra 2, by first teaching them that it's OK to make mistakes.
"You're not going to get every problem right; life is about making mistakes and learning from them," she tells them. "I just try and set it up [for them] that you're going to make a lot of mistakes and I'm going to make mistakes too and just trying to learn from that together is really important."
Avery Love, a sophomore at CGLA, is in Fowler's class for the second time. Last year, she took geometry with her and now she's taking algebra 2 with a small group of fellow sophomores.
But Love said she dreaded geometry at first.
"I dreaded math, I did not like math at all. It was kind of challenging. I had excelled in other math [classes] before algebra 1, but when I got to algebra 1 it was like a stopping point," she said.
TEACHER PROFILE
Name: Kelsey FowlerSchool: Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy (CGLA)Grade Level/Position: High School MathTeaching Philosophy: “You’re not going to get every problem right; life is about making mistakes and learning from them.”
But Fowler helped Love develop confidence in herself and her abilities - something that school administrators say is key for the students.
During the 2018-19 school year, Fowler, a recent graduate of Lee University, was the only teacher at CGLA to teach algebra 2 - and it was her first year as a teacher. Traditionally, when a first-year teacher is teaching a challenging subject for the first time, students don't always make huge gains, school Principal Maryo Beck said.
But Fowler's students outperformed the state and Hamilton County Schools on TNReady math assessments and Fowler earned a Level 5 Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) score for her students' growth and achievement.
Beck attributes Fowler's success in her first year to the confidence she instilled in her students.
"She came in last year on fire," Beck said. "Really working really hard, connecting with the girls, really breaking down the math, she teaches a really challenging subject, but she make[s] it relatable to them and really works with them on their confidence."
Love and her classmates say that Fowler will acknowledge when a problem has her stumped or gives her a challenge. In class, while reviewing the previous day's assignment, Fowler foreshadowed the results of a formula, which would become fractions and told the girls "that's where she struggles."
It's comforting and relatable when Fowler acknowledges how hard a problem can be, Love said.
"Ms. Fowler is a math whiz, so when she struggles with something and she struggles, we are like, 'We are a math whiz, too.' It doesn't make us feel as bad," Love said.
Anyiah Clemons, also a sophomore, said Fowler will encourage her to slow down and work through a problem. She ensures Clemons that she is there to help her.
"When I was working with Ms. Fowler, she was like, 'Take it slow, calm down and you got it,'" Clemons said. "Now I feel like I can do it because Ms. Fowler makes it seem like you've got it as long as you try hard and [she's] there to help."
Some students will text or email Fowler for help on homework and they are eager to sign up for her weekly tutoring sessions during which they can review concepts.
CGLA Executive Director Elaine Swafford hopes the confidence and mathematics skills that Fowler nurtures in her students will serve them throughout their education and life.
"She's teaching them to be a mathematician rather than just doing math problems, shes' teaching them the love of math and how to apply math," Swafford said. "If you love math then you can integrate math you can take it to the science classroom, to the related arts classroom, you can take it anywhere with you if you learn to understand it."
Fowler attributes her classes' success to the students themselves.
"Small victories and successes beget larger ones as students begin to believe in themselves, so I attribute last year to just a lot of really hard work, the girls believing in themselves and teaching really highly," she said.
THE SERIES
The Teacher of the Month series, sponsored by Kia of Chattanooga, recognizes a local educator who is making a difference in the classroom everyday. It was launched in September 2019. Nominations are accepted each month from parents, students, community members and even other teachers. The winner is selected by an external committee and is awarded a variety of prizes.For more information and to nominate a teacher, visit here.
Contact Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.