Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a teacher who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a man or woman and a teacher. Above all, the Teacher of the Month is dedicated to his or her students. Rich or poor, famous or not, he or she shines as an example of what teaching is all about.

Our choice for March is Jacalyn Warner, a first grade teacher at Diane Winborn Elementary in Katy, Texas.

Jacalyn Warner entered college expecting to take classes of interest and exit with a hubby, not a career. She did take courses she enjoyed – at Houston Baptist University, where in 1978 she earned a Bachelor's in education and a minor in history – and left school on a career path. She just didn't realize it at first.

Warner became a first grade teacher, but neither when she thought she would nor how.

High School Paves the Way
Hailing from the "small, rural town community" of Eagle Lake, Texas, about 40 miles outside Houston, Warner says young women in the 1970s didn't go to college with career aspirations. "Things have changed a lot since then," says Warner, from her home in Katy, Texas. "I have a lot of friends who didn't go to college."

After graduating from the university, Warner married and had two children, Camille and Caroline, now 25 and 22, respectively. "I did the mommy thing," she says of her life immediately following college. "I was very fortunate and able to stay home with my children until my youngest daughter started first grade."

But she never forgot her seminal experiences in junior high and high school – she spent summers from eighth grade through high school graduation teaching elementary school students at local vacation Bible schools. "I saw that I enjoyed working with children," she says. "I just knew I had a gift for teaching, organizing – planning different activities. I knew in high school I had that."

And for the past 16 years Warner has been a first grade teacher at Diane Winborn Elementary School in the Katy Independent School District, where her gifts are recognized and appreciated by both administrators and parents alike.

"Her reputation in the community is well established," says Alys Shorter, one of the school's assistant principals, who has been there for five years. "Her name comes up often as parents are discussing the type of teacher they want for their child."

First Grade Teacher Then – and Always
Warner says though she hoped eventually to become a full-time teacher, a job came her way much faster than expected.

At first a substitute teacher to "get my foot in the door," Warner says a teaching friend had to commute a long distance to get to Diane Winborn Elementary School and wanted to call it quits – only seven weeks into the school year. Warner learned of the open position in her friend's first grade classroom, interviewed for it and was hired by the principal, the late Diane Winborn, for whom the school is named. "It's almost like it was meant to be," Warner says of the official start to her career, in October 1988, well into the school year. And she remains in that first grade classroom, with no plan to leave it any time soon.

Learning From Experience
Warner says today her students benefit from her teaching longevity; not only has she become a better instructor due to time and experience, but teachers' aids – such as technology and conferences – have gotten better over time, too. She says this combination makes her that much more effective – and patient – in the classroom. She says 16 years of having her patience tested by pint-sized students has resulted in near-endless stores of the stuff.

The job takes "more patience than you can ever believe in having," she says with a smile. And persistence and sensitivity toward the kids' needs, she adds.

"One example of her commitment would be when a student in her classroom developed some health problems," Shorter, the assistant principal says. "She went to specialized training on a Saturday to ensure she was up-to-date on the appropriate actions she should take regarding this condition."

Reading and Writing
In terms of teaching, Warner hammers reading skills, and she uses creative ways to help motivate the kids in both academic and social arenas. "As first grade teachers, we basically work on reading," she says. "To me, reading is really work. Math (by contrast) is fun. I love to teach math because it's fun."

Warner is devoted to using guided reading and small group instruction as teaching tools. By working with kids one-on-one, no student falls through the cracks; the foundering ones get the best shot possible at boosting reading competency, and the more advanced pupils get the additional challenge they need to stay engaged and successful.

Warner has 20 students this year. One feature in her tightly managed classroom is spending time each day with students in a small group setting. She breaks her students up into groups of four to get at least 15 minutes of individual time with each child, every day.

Warner tells of one now-7-year-old first grader who at the beginning of this school year could barely sound out letters to make words. Now, six months into the academic year, this child is a "strong, average reader," ready for the second grade. "Basically, it's been working with her every day in small group instruction," she says.

Whether in reading or other areas, parents agree Warner is terrific with and for their children. "She encourages Christopher to draw and enjoys his pictures," says Dotti Winski, 38, mother of 7-year-old triplet boys (one of whom is Christopher) and a 6-year-old. "She also praises him on his writing skills and handwriting."

Warner says nothing tests her resolve more than kids who show disrespect, either to her or another student. And of course some of her students act inappropriately, but she credits a creative system of positive motivators for keeping her kids on track.

Take her "Good Deed Beads," for example. These are bracelet-like devices strung vertically with 10 beads. Each child gets one string at the start of the year. For a good deed – say, pushing in a fellow student's chair – a child gets to move one of his beads to the top of the string. When all 10 get to the top, the student gets to rummage through a treasure chest filled with "all kinds of little trinket things you get at the dollar store," she says.

A Busy Bee
All Warner does for her kids and the school takes time – more than is allotted in the school day. According to Shorter, she has been on the school's Campus Advisory Team; has been the first grade team leader; the school representative on the district's Katy Improvement Council; and a member of the school's safety/security committee.

Her workday begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends well after the school's final 3:55 p.m. bell. "I try to leave by 5," she says. "We do work a whole lot after hours."

Fortunately, her husband, Steve, is the one slaving over a hot stove. "I do NOT do the cooking at my house," Warner says. "My husband is a fabulous cook and loves cooking and trying different recipes. I know – I am very lucky! My friends are so jealous!"

However, she does make a mean chocolate cake, courtesy of good friend Kim Peters, "for family birthdays and special occasions," she says.

Though Warner may spend very little time in the kitchen, she does enjoy spending lots of her free time with a good book. "I read so many different types of books," she says. Most recent favorites include The Da Vinci Code (Doubleday, 2003) by Dan Brown and The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Hyperion Press, 2003) by Mitch Albom.

Clearly, though, Warner spends most of her waking hours in her first grade classroom – her dedication is evident to her kids' parents, some of whom, she uneasily admits, request her for their child.

Why do they make that effort? "I hope it's my enthusiasm and my love of teaching first grade that parents hear about through word of mouth," says Warner. "I get a great sense of satisfaction from watching a first grader learn and grow in their skills. I hope that parents can sense this and realize that's why I am here."

Want to see more?

• Know someone who deserves recognition for being the great teacher that he or she is? Nominate him or her!
• Family Energy Magazine
• Get Involved! It's Worth It! Building a Strong Relationship With Your Child's School
• Talking With the Teacher: Making the Most Out of Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Talk about it!