Excellent Educator: Rosemount Middle School's Alyssa Simmers

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- School is almost out for summer. And that means we are saying "Have a great summer, see you next year" to our Excellent Educators.

This year's final Excellent Educator is another great teacher whose student wanted to be in on the surprise.

Michael Miklus said his former math teacher Ms. Alyssa Simmers, from Rosemount Middle School, is one of those teachers he'll remember his whole life.

"She changed my view on math a lot. I went from hating it to really loving it," student Michael Miklus said.

Let's face it. Teenagers can be tired during the day. But not in Simmers' class.

"I remember walking in here and I'd be tired out of my mind, and by the end of class I'd be ready for the next hour," Miklus said. "It's just a different feel, the environment."

"It keeps me interested," Simmers said. "If I'm not interested in what I'm doing than they're not going to learn anything either."

Her energy and passion for math are paying off. Thank you notes from students line her classroom wall. She says the gratitude goes both ways.

"I really do enjoy working with them," she said. "It's really funny, Monday is my favorite day. We've had some time apart and it's nice to come back and work with them and spend time with them."