Spotlight on Teacher of the Year: Kerry Kauffman

1 min
Jul 15, 2024
Some choose their career path. For others, their passion chooses it for them. This was certainly the case for The Malvern School�s Teacher of the Year, Kerry Kauffman.   [caption id="attachment_8822" align="alignright" width="475"] Kerry Kaufmann, 2019 Teacher of the Year and Kristen M. Waterfield, President & Co-Founder of The Malvern School[/caption] �For as long as I can remember, I�ve always loved spending time with children,� Kerry recalls. �Teaching came as such a natural career choice for me, I�ve never considered anything else!�   Flexible, caring, and student-driven, teaching was second-nature to Kerry, who started her career at The Malvern School of Oaks while she was earning her Bachelor�s degree in PreK-4 and Special Education from Messiah College. In fact, you can still find her there today as the Lead Preschool Teacher, laughing and learning with her students each day.   �I�ve grown so much as an educator in the last few years,� Kerry shares. �It�s so rewarding to see both myself and the children grow and develop as we work together.�   So, what�s Kerry�s secret to success? She shares all the credit with her fellow Malvern School teachers.   �I have amazing co-workers that I can ask for help, borrow ideas from, and brainstorm with. I�ve learned so much from them about how to be a better teacher,� she says.   Her advice to teachers who hope to follow in her footsteps is to be flexible, be available to others, and always be willing to ask for help when you need it. She also says keep your plans exciting, don�t be afraid to try new things, and always have a back-up plan!   �Receiving the Teacher of the Year award proves to me that I�ve been successful in reaching many of my goals � but I�m not stopping here. Just like I tell my students, with every goal you achieve, you must set another to keep growing as an individual.�   We can�t wait to see what�s next!