Excellent Educator: Robbinsdale Middle School's Gretchen Enselein

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Ms. Gretchen Enselein from Robbinsdale Middle School is a ball of energy. She uses that energy to engage students, even those faced with suspension.

That's what makes her this week's Excellent Educator.

Teaching kids how to read has been Enselein's passion for five years.

"I love teaching reading [to] all these fabulous faces each day, and helping them find books that they really reading," Enselein said.

You can see Enselein's bubbly attitude in the inspirational messages that line her 6th grade reading classroom.

But last year Enselein decided to reach out to another group of students, those suspended from school. She began leading a program called PRIDE.

"PRIDE program is an alternative suspension program where kids, instead of being sent home, were placed in our program and receive all day instruction," Dr. George Nolan, Principal said.

"I really enjoy working with students that sometimes have difficult mornings or difficult days, and just really helping them goal set and be successful at school," she said.

Even though working with suspended students isn't the easiest job, Nolan said Enselein found a way to excel.

"Just relationship-based. She was so relationship-based, she did a phenomenal job with building relationships, talking with families, talking with kids. She's a stud," Nolan said.

Enselein worked for a few years as a teacher in St. Paul but wanted to get back to the Robbinsdale district because that is where she grew up and went to school.