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Kathy Price; Bloomfield, New Mexico
 "Naaba
Ani is a Navajo term for a safe haven or a cave or a place of
refuge and these kids — we have a lot of kids from very difficult
backgrounds, dysfunctional life outside of school, so when they come here
we want them
to be — number one, know that the teachers are here for them, that
we’re the same all the time, we’ve got some structure to the
day but it’s intellectually safe so they feel safe enough to venture
out with their thoughts and ideas. And when you get them to that
point, then learning is really going to take off.”
School at a Glance:
Naaba Ani Elementary School
Bloomfield, New Mexico
Grades: K-8
Enrollment: 776
Students per Teacher: 14.8
Ethnicity:
37% White
37% American Indian
3% Hispanic
Kathy Price’s first job out of college was at a preschool for handicapped
children in the Four Corners region in New Mexico. She was tossed
into the deep end: “I was told, here’s a program, here are
some students, we don’t have a curriculum, so do whatever you want.
So my first year out, I had to hire a speech pathologist, a physical therapist,
another teacher, and an aide, and I had to learn about special
education
because I didn’t have a background in it.” She believes that
experience made her more proactive in the schools she’s worked in.
Now, 26 years later, Kathy is becoming a math and science specialist,
and will be mentoring new teachers throughout her district.
Kathy
has taught fourth and fifth grade the Naaba Ani Elementary School
for 15 years, and has worked at Bloomington-area schools for a
total of 21 years. She feels strongly about the importance of
having a direct relationship with her students: “This is a very
diverse class and it’s important for all to feel welcome, to feel
that they have to have a personal relationship with the teacher and feel
safe enough
and secure enough that they know they won’t look stupid. Kids like
teachers that like them. ”
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