Asbury Educator of the Month: Renee Ware
Renee Ware’s math classroom at Baker Intermediate School in Winchester has been home to nearly everyone in her family. She’s spent all 23 years of her career in the same building – and has taught sixth, seventh and eighth graders.
Both of her sons passed through her classroom – Jake as an eighth grader, Nate as a sixth grader. How did that work out? Jake is now a freshman in college and majoring in, you guessed it, math. As a high school freshman, Nate is taking advanced math classes.
But Ware still sees a family member every day in her sixth-grade classroom. Her father, Rick Oliver, is a retired accountant who mentors students for 90 minutes a day.
This is his fourth year in the classroom, and all of his students last year advanced at least one level of proficiency.
“It’s been fantastic,” Ware said. “Having him is just so valuable to our kids.”
Oliver was skeptical at first, fearing he might not make a difference. Now, he loves it.
“My mom tells me that when he gets home, he talks all about the kids,” Ware said. “He has done so much for them, and working with them has done just as much for him.”
With dad helping out, Ware can maintain her up-tempo pace in the classroom where she “never allows dead time.”
“Math isn’t easy for everyone, but I don’t give up or let them give up,” she said.
Those are no idle words, according to Principal Josh Mounts. “She is dynamic and really works her room, giving every student feedback. She is always yearning and churning to be better and get her kids to be better.”
That’s why Mounts chose Ware to spearhead the school’s WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) mentoring program. Each summer, Ware trains the top sixth graders to be mentors to the fifth graders.
On the first day of school, she also leads the school-wide assembly of fun and games that serves as a giant icebreaker.
“The best thing about it is to hear new students say, ‘I used to be nervous, but now I’m not.”
They feel like they belong to a family – and Ware knows all about that.
NOMINATIONS: Asbury University’s School of Education, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees for young adults and working professionals in Kentucky and around the world, is pleased to honor world-class educators throughout Kentucky. If you would like to nominate an educator, contact Asbury University’s School of Education at AUSOE@asbury.edu.