Fifth graders at Mississippi’s Petal Upper Elementary School learn to love math thanks to Tyler Shows. The teacher connects math to the real world as he focuses on the concepts underlying each lesson, intentionally building students’ confidence and inspiring them to rise to his high expectations. Shows writes on students’ desks with dry-erase markers and incorporates games like Trashketball, Stinky Feed, and Draw Down to keep students engaged. He knows each student’s individual strengths and weaknesses, skillfully bridging their transition from fourth grade and analyzing assessment data to inform next steps for each child to succeed. And they do: Shows’ students achieved 116% of projected growth on the NWEA MAP assessments from Fall 2021 to Spring 2022. In addition, Petal School District’s fifth graders have delivered among the highest Mississippi MAP math scores in the state every year since Shows’ arrival in 2014. Thanks in part to Shows’ leadership and inspiration, Petal Upper has grown from a D to an A – and has maintained the A despite enduring devastation from a 2017 tornado and disruption from the pandemic.
Shows serves as grade-level chair and leads a professional learning community of six math teachers who work to develop standards-aligned lessons, create assessments and track data. He organizes professional development, leads instructional rounds and facilitates feedback, and mentors both new and pre-service teachers. To build the teacher recruitment pipeline, Shows collaborates with the district’s Teacher Academy to host high school students interested in pursuing careers in education. He serves as a professional learning facilitator in the University of Southern Mississippi’s World Class Teaching Program and sits on the district superintendent’s advisory council. When COVID-19 closed his building, Shows spearheaded the school’s Panthers Online program, offering video tutorials and virtual learning opportunities. The online instruction was so effective that it was extended and repurposed into a lesson study team for the 2021-22 school year.
Once a student in the district where he now teaches, Shows hones relationships with students and families that last for years after children leave his classroom. Sixth graders frequently visit to catch up on life events, and Shows often attends sporting events and performances for students he taught years earlier. Each spring, seniors get one graduation ticket to give to a teacher of their choice; Shows is a popular recipient.
Shows holds a bachelor’s in business and accounting from the University of Mississippi (2012) and a master’s in gifted education from William Carey University (2019). In 2021, he became a National Board Certified Exceptional Needs Specialist.
Press release: Petal Teacher Receives $25,000 for Building a Legacy of Education in His Hometown
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2012 B.A., Bachelor of Business, University of Mississippi
M.Ed., Master of Education, Gifted Education, William Carey University
