Trish Morrison – Willow Canyon Elementary

I know that there are lots of great teachers teaching in our schools, and I am grateful. However, Mrs. Trish Morrison is by far the best teacher I have ever encountered! I have 4 children and can honestly say that between elementary, middle and high school, she is hands down the best!

Mrs. Morrison has been teaching for over 15 years and still loves teaching. She shows no signs of “burn out”. Each year (I have my 3rd of 4th children in her class right now) she just gets better and better! She is a perfect balance of discipline and making learning fun and knows that she can create an interesting and enriching class environment without sacrificing the most important part of learning for the children. She has fabulous ways of teaching concepts that make the kids remember. I have seen my daughter soar in ways that she hasn’t before. My daughter has a natural talent for writing and on the first day of 4th grade Mrs. Morrison already saw that. She has looked for different enrichment activities throughout the year that have fostered that talent. My daughter really struggled with the concept of rounding. No matter what we did, she just couldn’t grasp it. Instead of just giving up on her, Mrs. Morrison personally emailed me about the situation and then sent enrichment activities home with my daughter so she could practice. In addition, she taught ME how to correctly round so that I could teach my daughter at home! I am very happy to say that my daughter has not struggled in rounding at all anymore and I am so looking forward to the Spring testing where she can show off what she knows!

Another thing that has really stood out to me this year is her ability to work with difficult children and still maintain an air of professionalism and LOVE for them. I work in the lunchroom at the school so I am there every day and see her interact with the kids. There are a couple that have challenges and struggles above just the normal 4th grade troubles. She is thoughtful and kind but makes it clear that the behavior can’t be tolerated. I have watched her kind ways and have seen these kids completely turn around. She is a true example of showing interest in a child and making each one feel special. If you ask ANY child in that class if Mrs. Morrison has a favorite student each one would probably say their own name. She is like a parent who can show kindness and love among all of her children/students.

My daughter is already counting down the days with dread until summer vacation (what kid does that?) because it means that she won’t have Mrs. Morrison any longer. If I could clone her I would! She has won teacher of the year at our school and continues to have past students come up to her and shower her with hugs and updates on how they are doing in middle and high school. My 12 year old son begs me to go to parent teacher conferences for his little sister so that he can see Mrs. Morrison.
I am grateful that she loves teaching because it shows!!!

–Jennifer Osborne