A little lamination goes a long way.
Lauren Moore didn’t invent the idea of teachers writing notes of support to students. But two years ago, the New Hope High School math teacher took a page from the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports playbook and made it her own.
Moore’s epiphany came after a note of encouragement she wrote one of her students was ruined and left in pieces. Instead of throwing out the scraps of paper, Moore re-assembled them and then laminated them to help preserve the positive message for the student.
“It was an immediate transformation,” Moore said of her student’s reaction to seeing her “surgery” on the note. “He would check every day and ask, ‘Did you fix it? Is it ready?’ When I was finished, I was like, ‘OK, look at this. Look at what I did.’ His spirits immediately lifted.”
These days, Moore laminates all her notes to students in an attempt to preserve the positivity for as long as possible. Her willingness to invest a little extra time and effort into a note of encouragement is just one example of how and why she is able to build connections and relationships with her students and affect their learning.
On Dec. 3, the Lowndes County School District recognized Moore’s efforts when she was named the Teacher of the Year in a ceremony at the Career Technology Center. On Dec. 12, Moore and Caledonia High School Principal Gregory Elliott (Administrator of the Year) were recognized at the LCSD monthly board meeting.
Moore is proud that student, who is a senior at NHHS, has a piece of his art hanging on the wall in her classroom. She acknowledges that reaching every student is challenging and that she isn’t perfect at it, but she feels her background as an honors student who had really good teachers in high school helps her build those connections. Moore said students who see a teacher cares about them as more than just a number or a test score are more willing to pay attention in class and are more likely to be motivated to learn.
“If it is for one student, it matters,” Moore said. “It matters for them.”
Moore graduated from Immanuel Christian School, which is now Columbus Christian Academy, in 2007. Between her junior and senior years, Moore said she worked as a camp counselor with third and fourth-graders at her church camp. She said that experience convinced her to pursue a career in education.
Moore said she received the most scholarship money from Mississippi University for Women, which also was the closest to her home, so she decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
Certified to teach English, math and science, Moore also has a master’s degree in special education (emphasis on challenging behaviors) from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 2020. She is working on a specialist degree in special education (emphasis in autism) from the University of West Georgia.
Moore spent her first three years as an eighth-grade math teacher at Columbus Middle School. She worked as a seventh-grade math teacher for six years at Caledonia Middle School before she transitioned to the New Hope campus. Moore spent two years teaching eighth-grade compacted math with Algebra I at New Hope Middle prior to moving to New Hope High, where she is in her fourth year.
Moore praised her co-workers on the NHHS math team and the “amazing” inclusion teachers who work with her and her accommodated students. She said she makes a point to give students individual attention after absences or if they need a little extra help. She said she makes a point to talk to her students so they see she isn’t a robot and organize reward days, where students have parties for meeting classroom goals.
“They also get to see the human side of me as opposed to just Mrs. Moore the teacher,” Moore said.
Moore said that aspect of her teaching has evolved as she has gained experience and she sees more examples of what works and what doesn’t work in a classroom, especially when some of her students may face numerous challenges outside of school.
That’s part of the reason Moore doesn’t mind taking a few minutes to offer positive thoughts to students and then laminate those notes for safe keeping. The trust earned from students for following through on her promises to make brownies or to bring chips and a drink for a party – or to laminate a note – make a huge difference.
“Their success is my success,” Moore said. “Being a part of the students’ improved scores plays a major part in our ‘A’ rating as a school. That has been rewarding because the teachers work hard and the students work hard. Getting this award was a great affirmation for all of that hard work.”
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