Our Valley’s Top Teacher has been shaping the minds of kids at Columbia Elementary School in Madison ever since it opened fifteen years ago. Whenever you walk into Mrs. Karen Jump’s third grade classroom they are always doing some sort of fun activity she has planned for them.
“I just know what’s best for the kids and I love doing it for them, and just seeing the joy and excitement on their face as we do these kinds of activities in class,” smiles Mrs. Karen Jump, the Valley’s Top Teacher
“She is really silly and she loves llamas,” laughs Abby Courtney, a third grade student.
Yes, there are a whole lot of llamas in her third grade classroom, but the fun decorations on the walls are nothing compared to the fun being had in class. On this day they were learning with balloons, other times they use fruit loops and roller coasters, and sometimes even get to come to school in costume to learn!
“When we learned the distributive property, I guess just a few days ago, all of third grade had a doctor dress up day,” says Abby.
She teaches them to laugh, but she also give them clasroom jobs to teach them responsibility.
“It is very important that they learn that they have a part in the classroom,” explains Mrs. Jump. “So we have a class pet, his name is Sheldon.”
But it’s not Sheldon or the fun activities that Mrs. Jump’s kids say they like the best. They say their favorite thing is the way she treats them.
“She listens to her students,” shares Abby.
“She cares about us very deeply and uses a lot of time to focus on us,” says fellow third grader, Aiden Delagarza.
“She is very, very nice and funny,” says Jude Wade, another third grader.
This motherly love runs in her blood. She goes above and beyond to make sure her kids get to come to a place where they are encouraged and cared for.
“I have two kids who attend here, so I think being a mom and thinking about that this is how I want my child to be treated and that these are like other people’s children,” says Mrs. Jump. “I just want to love and take care of that, and keep that in mind.”
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