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Amy Sward is getting comfortable in her first year as a first-grade teacher at Breckenridge Elementary.
BRECKENRIDGE — First-grade teacher Amy Sward is excited about her first year teaching full-time at Breckenridge Elementary School — and using the International Baccalaureate program with her students.
She's one of 18 full-time classroom teachers new this year at Summit School District.
It's her first time as a first-grade teacher, but she has about 10 years of experience with second, fourth and fifth grades.
“I think there are pros and cons to each level,” said Sward, 45. “You keep yourself challenged when you change grades.”
Sward lived in Dallas for several years before moving to Colorado in part for the pleasant summer weather. She's taught in Eagle County and has been living in Summit County for 13 years.
After some time working in human resources for local resorts, Sward missed the kids and decided to return to the classroom.
She was a substitute at the school last year.
Breckenridge Elementary Principal Peg Connealy said the school's staff are “glad to have her on board.”
“She's very, very energetic. She's very enthusiastic and she's just been a great contribution to our staff,” Connealy said. “People on staff just think the world of her.”
Sward aims to inspire her 20 first-graders to love school, “love reading, love math and love writing.”
She wants to “let them know I'm here for them and I care about them.”
She's one of 18 full-time classroom teachers new this year at Summit School District.
It's her first time as a first-grade teacher, but she has about 10 years of experience with second, fourth and fifth grades.
“I think there are pros and cons to each level,” said Sward, 45. “You keep yourself challenged when you change grades.”
Sward lived in Dallas for several years before moving to Colorado in part for the pleasant summer weather. She's taught in Eagle County and has been living in Summit County for 13 years.
After some time working in human resources for local resorts, Sward missed the kids and decided to return to the classroom.
She was a substitute at the school last year.
Breckenridge Elementary Principal Peg Connealy said the school's staff are “glad to have her on board.”
“She's very, very energetic. She's very enthusiastic and she's just been a great contribution to our staff,” Connealy said. “People on staff just think the world of her.”
Sward aims to inspire her 20 first-graders to love school, “love reading, love math and love writing.”
She wants to “let them know I'm here for them and I care about them.”
IB component
This is also Sward's first year teaching with the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, which was included in Summit Schools' earlier grades last year. The program encourages students to be active, empathetic learners connected with their environment.“I really like it,” Sward said. “I think it really builds good character, and it's going to build good adults when they get older.”
In the first weeks of class, her students have learned poetry, math games and more. They've also learned about how to get along and play games “and what it means to be friends,” Sward said.
When she's not in the classroom, Sward enjoys traveling to foreign countries, downhill and cross-country skiing, hiking and biking.
“I like to do pretty much any activity in the mountains,” she said.
She likes to read biographies and fiction in addition to material regarding education. She recently read a book about how the building of the Taj Mahal was based on a love story.
Sward holds a degree in elementary education from the University of Oklahoma and a master's in elementary education from Texas A&M University.
Robert Allen can be contacted at (970) 668-4628 or rallen@summitdaily.com.
