FOX 9 Top Teacher: Kaitlin Wermerskirchen of Jackson Elementary School

SHAKOPEE, Minn. (FOX 9) - FOX 9 is honoring nine outstanding teachers for the FOX 9 Top Teacher Award. This year, our station is recognizing the teachers virtually. 

Our next award goes to Kaitlin Wermerskirchen, a kindergarten teacher at Jackson Elementary School in Shakopee.

Mrs. W, as she's often called, was nominated by a parent who says she doesn’t just teach her students the usual reading, writing and math, but emphasizes character development, empathy and kindness.
 
“The best thing you can do is teach them kindness, teach them routine,” said Wermerskirchen. “You can greet them at the door every single day. Teach them what it means to have good communication skills with others by looking at them in the eye, being respectful of their space using storybooks and puppets. Use real live events in the classroom to learn from our mistakes and we have to stop during our day often and say, ‘How can we change this? How could we react differently to this?’ And that’s what kids need, they need that structure, they need someone to help them and guide them in that way.” 

Wermerskirchen will receive a $1,000 check from Royal Credit Union to spend on supplies for her classroom and a teacher trophy from FOX 9.