Rainbow Mountain First Grade
Sandra McCassim, 1st Grade Lead Teacher
This is Sandra's sixth year teaching in Rainbow Mountain's lower elementary program. Her experience in kindergarten, first and second grades enables her to address the wide range of developmental abilities that first grade often encompasses. Sandra holds a Bachelor’s Degree and certification in Elementary Education and is in the process of completing her Master’s Degree in School Administration from Gardner-Webb University.
Sandra first became interested in alternative education when she was a student teacher. She was fortunate to work with innovative teachers who encouraged her to use a whole-language approach and thematic curricula that incorporated literature and arts in all subject areas. She saw first-hand how this approach engaged students in the learning process, encouraged cultural literacy, and strengthened problem-solving skills.
Rainbow Mountain’s holistic, community-centered program attracted Sandra both as a parent and an educator. She was especially drawn to the school’s emphasis on social and emotional learning through cultural studies, world celebrations, centering practices, and peer mediation. She also resonated with the school’s use of Positive Discipline to create classroom environments based on mutual respect and personal responsibility.
Sandra enjoys teaching 1st graders who are moving from imaginative, play-based learning to more mature, abstract concepts such as reading and math. She loves watching her students’ excitement when they make developmental leaps. Her teaching style is experiential and open-ended, which keeps learning fun and helps children maintain and develop their imagination and creative thinking skills—two assets she believes will enable her students to go anywhere in life.
When Sandra is not sharing her love of science, cooking, reading and nature with her class, she is enjoying these hobbies with her family. While her children sleep, she keeps the owls company and works on her graduate degree.
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