Eisenhauer has been teaching second grade for the past five years.

“I’ve had experience teaching high school math and middle school language arts,” Eisenhauer said. “But second grade is just this magical age group where they’re old enough to be independent and read, yet they’re still young enough where they’re excited and thirsting for new knowledge. Second grade is just that sweet spot I hope to teach at the rest of my career.”

It has been a year unlike any of her previous years. Eisenhauer says she is thankful for her fellow teachers who share ideas about what works what may not.

“This year the real challenge has been how to still make school fun and engaging to the students,” Eisenhauer said. “With some of these the social distancing, the masks, the sanitization we have to do, just finding ways to make lessons still interactive and fun with the kids, that they can still participate–that’s been really key.”

One way to accomplish this has been through technology. Chromebooks and programs such as Google Classroom have provided great help, but they’ve also presented new challenges.

“These kids are tech natives, but they’re learning a whole bunch of new platforms at once,” Eisenhauer said. “They’re learning how to do text boxes, re-sizing, where the keys are on the keyboard–all of things that are a little more natural to adults, and we take for granted. They’re learning that on top of content, the normal second grade curriculum.”

Eisenhauer says the school administration and the PTO have provided anything the teachers and classes have needed during this pandemic. That support has been huge, she says, to make it a successful school year.

“If we’re still having fun teaching, they’ll still be having fun learning,” Eisenhauer said. “So a lot of it was just making sure our heads and minds were in the right place, that we could come each day at our best and ready to make learning fun for them. At the end of the day, education is a lot about the the teacher and the student relationship, with the students knowing they can be successful even when things are hard. They can be successful when things are different.”

In her nomination, Ashley Westfall told us “As a teacher myself, I know what it takes to be a great teacher. Mrs. Eisenhauer is a true example of a superb teacher with a huge heart. She makes learning fun by dressing up, creating “cheesy” sayings or phrases to help her students remember concepts easier, has let “her kids/students” pie her in the face when they excel on a test, and makes learning fun, overall, with her spunky personality. She also works on building the confidence of all of her students. She truly loves each and every one of her students. I have really noticed a difference in my daughter this year. My daughter feels she is loved by Mrs. Eisenhauer and wants to do anything to impress her. In today’s world, social/emotional well-being is just as important as academics, and Mrs. Eisenhauer understands that. Mrs. Eisenhauer is an MVT, and NCOE is very lucky to have a teacher like her!”

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