Tunja Shelton Smith, fifth grade teacher at Power APAC Elementary School in Jackson, combines several innovative methodologies to improve her students' vocabulary and reading skills, nurture creative writing and develop their math skills. By engaging them in cooperative learning groups and using manipulatives, hands-on activities and incentives, Mrs. Smith has increased the number of books her students read and has helped them score above the state average in math. Among her programs is a unit on the stock market, in which students are grouped into "companies" with stock; the companies that earn the most stock by the end of the year receive a monetary award. Mrs. Smith is a National Board Certified teacher, has chaired her grade level three years in a row, and served on the district committee to develop benchmarks for the math curriculum.
1992 Mississippi State University, B.A.
