Excellent Educator: Seward Montessori's Jessica Grabe

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There's no better way to start your day that with a high-five. Every day that's how students enter one Minneapolis teacher's classroom.

Jessica Grabe teaches middle school social studies at Seward Montessori School. She greets her students with a smile, but her infectious love of learning rubs off on her students and that's what makes Jessica an Excellent Educator.

Grabe is living her dream of being a teacher in her hometown of Minneapolis.

"It's something that I always wanted to do -- I've always loved the kids, loved the innocence, loved the enthusiasm," she said. "They always bring something to the class that is different and new."

She's has a passion for social studies. The material excites her, as with the World War I lesson plan she had when WCCO surprised her with her award.

"I like that everyone can relate to it, every single kid in here can bring something to the class," she said.

But her students are not all here to learn history. She often invites Augsburg College students in who dream of being a teacher someday, as well.

"They need to see what to do if they actually want to do it as a job, so they need to have the experience," Grabe said.

Along with being a standout teacher, Grabe still thinks of herself as a student. Someone who hopes to never stop learning.

"I still go into other people's classrooms and I still learn from other people," she said. "If you stop learning then you kind of stop growing, so it's important to keep being educated."