Shayla Norris is passionate about teaching kids and has recently been hired at Revere High School. She teaches the students through speaking activities, online programs and other interactive activities around the classroom. 

Norris has been teaching Spanish at Revere High School since early January. She took over for Maria Fela after she had to take an extended leave. Norris teaches Spanish II and III classes. 

Although it has been difficult taking over for Fela in the middle of the school year, Norris has come to love RHS. 

“I love it here. The atmosphere is super fun, everybody is so kind, students and teachers,” Norris said. 

This is Norris’ first year teaching after getting out of college. Although she had done some student teaching before, she had never had a classroom to herself. 

“This is my first year overall so, it’s a little much,” Norris said.

She mentioned how it has been hard getting into all of the programs used in her Spanish classroom and just getting into the flow of teaching and the classroom overall. 

“It took me a long time to get into all the different programs that are used for the class and I’m still learning how everything works, but luckily I have Ms. Ryan next door; she helps me with everything,” Norris said. 

Katie Ryan, another Spanish teacher at RHS, talked about how Norris is doing at her new teaching job. 

“We are so happy to have her here at Revere, and we’re glad that she was able to settle in and help us out,” Ryan said. 

She also talked about what Norris is like as a teacher and her dedication to her students. 

“She’s very caring; She’s hardworking, and she is very passionate about our kids at Revere,” Ryan said. 

Ryan explained how grateful she is that Norris was able to take over for Fela after her leave. 

“We’re glad that she was able to settle in and help us out while Mrs. Fela had to step out due to surgeries, and we are grateful for all the work that she is putting in for our Spanish language students,” Ryan said. 

Norris decided to start teaching Spanish because she wanted to work with and help students. 

“I wanted to be a teacher because I want to have a positive impact on kids,” Norris said. 

Another one of the big reasons Norris decided to become a Spanish teacher was because of her love of grammar. 

“I am a big grammar nerd; I love grammar,” Norris said. 

She also spoke about why she thinks Spanish, or really any other world language, is an important subject for high school students to learn in school. 

“I think any single language is an important subject because our world is constantly becoming more globalized, so knowing another language is, I think, an essential skill to have,” Norris said. 

Norris says that her favorite part about teaching is just spending time with the students in her classroom. 

“I really like the fun classroom interactions that we have, our back and forth banter,” Norris said. 

She also says that she likes to teach Spanish by having group time and instructing the students to talk to each other in the language. She says that it can make the class a lot more interesting and helps students engage. 

“I like to have group time so that they can use the language . . . I just like to have interactive activities so that we’re not all bored in class,” Norris said. 

Lily Hughes, a freshman who is in one of Norris’s Spanish II classes, talked about what she likes about Norris as a Spanish teacher. 

“I like how she gives students time and is very lenient. I like her pace of teaching,” Hughes said. 

Hughes also talked about what Norris is like in class and why she likes having her so much. 

“I like her bubbly personality . . . she has a very cute sense of style,” Hughes said. 

Lilly Karwowski, who is also a Spanish II student, spoke about what she really likes about Norris. 

“She’s very friendly . . . She’s a very positive person,” Karwowski said. 

Karwowski also talked about some of the activities they do and also about the Spanish culture the students learn in Norris’s class. 

“Today we wrote on white boards . . . we also learned about this Spanish rat that takes children’s teeth, it was like the tooth fairy,” Karwowski said. 

Norris looks forward to every day in class where she can teach the students new information, spend time with them and make new memories. 

“Everyday there’s something new . . . every day is a new fun memory to have,” Norris said. 

Norris keeps her students engaged and interested in the subject with lots of interactive activities. She pursues her love of grammar and is helping and teaching the students new information everyday in her classroom.