NOVEMBER 4, 2022 — After several years working with the district in other teaching roles, the Lyons Central School District is excited to welcome Mrs. Amanda Bookmiller into her own classroom as a new 5th grade teacher for the 2022-23 school year.
Mrs. Bookmiller has worked with the district since 2017, first as a part-time substitute and then as a classroom aide, teacher assistant and crisis interventionist. Over the last few years, Mrs. Bookmiller has had the chance to work with students in all of our Elementary grade levels, and she’s excited to finally have a classroom of her own.
Several years ago while leading a session in a classroom, a teacher asked Mrs. Bookmiller why she wasn’t pursuing her certificate to become a teacher herself. The question flipped a switch in her mentality, she said.
“I’ll never forget. He looked at me and went, ‘Are you going for teaching?’” Mrs. Bookmiller recalled. “I said no, but the more I thought about it … I love being here, I love the kids — the question became, ‘Why not?’”
In 2019, Mrs. Bookmiller began working on her Bachelor’s degree online through Grand Canyon University. She graduated in May of 2022, and started working on her Master’s degree in Literacy from SUNY Potsdam in August. She is enrolled in a full-time courseload, which she will work on outside of her time in the classroom, and hopes to finish her degree by next summer.
Literacy, Mrs. Bookmiller said, is one of the most important aspects of her teaching philosophy.
“Literacy will be my focus, as a teacher,” she said. “For me, especially, it is heartbreaking to see how far behind so many students are. The pandemic definitely hit a lot of them the wrong way, and I want to help our students develop the skills to take it in and produce it. Literacy is not just about reading and writing — it’s art, it’s music, it’s everywhere you look.”
Mrs. Bookmiller lives in Lyons with her husband and two sons. She looks forward to building relationships with not only her coworkers, but with her students — and she’s so excited to see the progress they make in the next year.
“Fifth grade is kind of where my heart is,” she said. “I love that they’re really starting to figure out who they are as individuals, and it’s just fun to see them grow.”