Teacher Carman McBride has a bubbly spirit and a love for life-long learning that has spread throughout Roberts Elementary School. Like a magnet, people are drawn to her, note McBride’s colleagues.
There is also “Mrs. McBride’s Philosophy of Teaching,” which includes such gems as: “The most important belief is that all students will learn if they are taught well and given the right learning environment,” and “I don’t ever want to squander a single day by allowing a student to be apathetic about learning. I want my children to always be excited and thankful for their education as a privilege, not a right, and certainly not a burden.”
The third-through-fifth grade teacher leaves a positive impact on all of her students and is known for reaching difficult students and changing their lives. At Roberts, she spearheads the school’s Environmental and Spatial Technology (EAST) studies. EAST is a project-based, service-learning-oriented program that uses advanced technology that allows students to gain insight into using information to solve problems. EAST’s goal is for students to play a vital role in their communities, to help direct their educations, and to ultimately to chart their futures.
McBride’s EAST projects have been so successful that they have placed six Roberts Elementary students at the top of the 2013 national EAST service project K-12 competition. She has been called on by other EAST labs across the state to present what she has done in only one year.
One of the most recent projects, “Delete Blood Cancer,” was developed due to a student who has a relative fighting the disease. As part of the campaign, people were encouraged to enroll in the National Blood Marrow Registry. Another project, “Lost,” helped families reclaim items from the school’s lost and found; while “Coffee Shop” supported education in Rwanda; and another project, “EAST Savings Bank,” taught students key professional and interviewing skills in the banking industry.
McBride’s talents as an educator are also apparent in her test scores. Her classes have dominated the “Math-lete” competition, while her student scores in math and literacy rank at 90% or above. She is also a Nationally Board Certified Teacher, as well as a trained educator for International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program.
