My early years at Swallow Elementary School were pretty rough. I struggled with figuring out my place in life, and I wasn't having the best experience—until I met my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Cavianni. 

Teachers previous to Mrs. Cavianni didn’t care for me because they didn’t understand the frustrations I experienced, and I didn’t know how to verbalize those frustrations. In light of my past experiences, I expected the same thing as I walked into my first day of fourth grade. But I walked into a completely different environment. Mrs. Cavianni had a passion for teaching and loved helping kids, both emotionally and academically. 

As I got to know Mrs. Cavanni, I could tell she cared about me and I could talk to her about any struggles I had in class, as well as with my friends. One time I got in an argument with one of my friends, Ella, over something that was stupid and didn’t concern her at all, but she took us both outside the classroom. She sat down with us and talked through the situation with us, making sure we were both okay and that we had everything figured out. She showed me how to work through a tense situation with a friend. She wasn’t just teaching me academics, she was teaching me how to work through difficult situations and inspired me to always do better.

For the first time, I felt a teacher truly cared about me and was genuinely kind to me.
She also made learning and school fun. I became excited to go to school. She was enthusiastic and engaging with everything she taught.

Mrs. Cavianni also taught me life lessons. Instead of getting annoyed by me, she worked on it with me and taught me how to better talk and behave with other people and my friends. She also taught me how to enjoy school. During and after fourth grade, I actually wanted to come to school, which was a change.

Thank you, Mrs. Cavianni, for helping me to become a better person and learning to enjoy school.