Academics

Educator Profiles

Beth Flannery

Mathematics Intervention Teacher
MS Academics
Appleton, Wisconsin

I grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin. I then lived in Madison, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois before moving to Santa Fe. I have a BA in Secondary Education in English from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I am licensed to teach both English and Mathematics here in New Mexico.

My first teaching experience, just out of college, was in inner-city Chicago. When we first moved to New Mexico in 1998, I taught at McCurdy. Then I moved to Santa Fe Community College so I could keep teaching at night and stay home with my children during the day. I was there for 13 years. I taught GED, Intro to English, Writing, College Success, and did the AVID program at Capitol High School. I also ran the Tutoring Center for two years. Sometimes here at SFIS I run into parents and staff who were students of mine at the community college! Five years ago I was given a math class to teach, and I found I was good at it. I liked it so much that I switched to teaching mostly math. Then I went through the process of adding a math endorsement to my teaching license.

I always knew I was going to be a teacher, from the time I was in elementary school. I remember thinking a lot about why students weren’t understanding the classwork and how the teacher could improve his or her teaching. As a teacher, my job is to improve my teaching skills so my students can grasp the material. I have never believed that any child is too “at risk” to learn, and I believe that all children can be academically successful if they are willing to work hard.

This is not my first experience with Santa Fe Indian School. In 2003 the community college received a grant to teach math to SFIS cafeteria workers. I came here and was struck by how SFIS is a family. I saw students coming in to chat with cafeteria staff and saw that they were cared for and had a strong relationship with all faculty and staff at the school. This was about 10 years ago, but it stayed in the back of mind, and when I was ready to come back to teaching Middle School, it was the first place I applied.

This is an experience I’ve been hoping for since college. I’ve always taught among cultures other than my own, and I have learned to be conscious and respectful of differences. Having experiences with other cultures – African American and Hispanic – has taught me how differently people in our country live and are raised—the different values, beliefs and world views. The gift of teaching among different cultures is that my students aren’t just learning in my class, they’re also teaching me.

Service (giving back) is by far the most important core value. I have spent the last 20 years of my life focusing on how to be of service. I believe service is the key to high self-esteem because it is through service that we see our gifts and learn to value our strengths. Service is a big part of my home and how I’m raising my own children. I want my children to live a life in which they think about what they can put into the world rather than what they can get out.

I am grateful to have a job that provides me opportunities every day to work with students and help them achieve—and I get paid to do it! I feel incredibly honored to be here at SFIS and to be welcomed into this community. I am honored hear the prayers, see the dancing, and join in the celebrations of our students and their families. I am also honored that the parents of SFIS trust me to be present and accountable for their children’s learning.