A Woodbury teacher is being recognized for her hard work. Kathy Romero teaches at Crosswinds Arts and Science School, a year-round 6-10 grade school, and was recently nominated for Minnesota Teacher of the Year by her principal Bryan Bass. Though her career as a teacher has been short, the 58 year-old has made a big impact on her students’ lives.
Romeo’s career as a teacher has been brief up to this point because education was not always her career choice. Romeo started her career in finance, working her way up from a savings and loan bank teller to a licensed stock broker.
She also raised two daughters in that time. But her dream in life was to be a teacher; so Romeo left her job and pursued an education to be a language arts teacher. The choice was a good one. She is now among 135 candidates up for the 2013 Teacher of the Year.
Romeo loves her job and strives to make learning easy and comfortable for all her students. She has helped struggling students meet or exceed education requirements ever since she has been at Crossroads. Her students think of her as a mother figure the way she cares first while helping them learn along the way.
"I get all my energy in that classroom," Romero said. "Seriously, I can't wait to get there."
That type of enthusiasm is a quality that can sometimes be hard to find in today’s classrooms. Romeo clearly made a good career change because teaching is something she was born to do. Her peers, students, and a nomination for Teacher of the Year will speak to that.