Miss Carla Vela is in her third year of teaching and is a fourth grade teacher at Maple Ridge Elementary. The following is an excerpt from a parent recommendation letter:
Miss Carla Vela is one of those teachers that you dream your child will have. She is not only the most incredible teacher and makes learning fun and memorable, but she also cares deeply for each student. It is evident that every single child who walks into her classroom feels loved and they love her back.
Miss Vela goes above and beyond to make her students feel important and loved. You can feel the love she pours into the students just by being around her. At Back-to-School night, she excitedly greeted each new student by their name and already knew who each of them were. She studied and memorized all of the kids’ names before she met them to help them feel special and important.
Past students were pouring in as well to see her, and she made sure to talk to each one and was so excited to see them and hear about their lives. She continues to do this with her students now.
Each student has received a personalized letter from her where she stated positive qualities she observed in them and reasons she was excited to have them in her classroom. She makes them feel seen and important every single day.
She always has control of the classroom and that is because of how much the students love and respect her. They want to make her happy and listen to her because she gives them that same respect. Her entire classroom is built on respect. She models and teaches the students how to respect one another. She often has them work in groups and the students know each voice is important and is valuable in a team. It is incredible!
Because of this mutual respect for everyone in the class, it provides such an amazing learning environment for these kids.
Miss Vela makes learning fun. I can’t tell you how many times my daughter comes home excited to tell me about something they did in class. I am in awe of all the teaching styles she utilizes as well as the creativity she uses to teach so many different things. She teaches in a way that helps students remember each concept and have fun while doing it.
She does these things every day to help students get excited about learning. My daughter has said that she used to look forward to recess, but now she likes being in class because she just wants to learn more.
Valuable life lessons are taught in Miss Vela’s class every day. Her classroom is filled with positivity. Many parents have noticed their child using positive self-talk and phrases this year. That is all coming from her. She also teaches the students that sometimes things don’t work out or go as planned and that is okay. She has taught them how to be proactive in those situations.
She is also teaching them how to love themselves. She does this by example and loves them so well herself. Students in her class are more confident in themselves because of her.
We are so lucky to have Miss Vela at Maple Ridge!
