AAPS Exceptional Teacher: Samantha Shanteau, Wines Elementary kindergarten teacher
By Jo Mathis/AAPS District News
Samantha Stapish Shanteau grew up in Ann Arbor and attended Dicken Elementary School, Slauson Middle School, and Pioneer High School. Her parents worked alternate schedules as a nurse and ceramic tile setter to make sure one of them was always with their daughter and younger son, Joe, who still lives in Ann Arbor. The family was always very close, spending a lot of time together and taking fun trips around Michigan in the summers.
Shanteau has been teaching at Wines Elementary for eight years. The first three in third grade have been followed by five years in kindergarten.
She and her husband Matt, a second grade teacher at Eberwhite Elementary, are parents to Lola, an eighth grader at Forsythe Middle School; Madalyn, who is in second grade at Wines; and Amalie, who is three years old. The family loves being outside, walking through their neighborhood, and visiting new parks around town. They also enjoy going to the beach in the summer, especially in the South Haven area.
Principal David DeYoung calls Shanteau “a superstar” who is an important part of the Wines team. He recalls that she had been a student teacher in kindergarten at Wines and that he hired her as soon as he could after she graduated.
“Her first position was in third grade where she took the strategies she learned as a kindergarten teacher and adjusted them to create an amazing third grade classroom,” he says. “A few years later, Sam came to me when we had an open kindergarten position and requested that she move to kindergarten. I must admit I was hesitant. Not because I didn’t think she would be successful, but because she was doing such a great job in third grade. Sam convinced me that this would be a good idea and I’m forever grateful that I listened to her.”
He says she quickly became an outstanding kindergarten teacher and was an immediate leader on the team.
“Samantha Shanteau is now not only a kindergarten team leader but a school and school district leader,” he says. “She serves as one of the lead teachers at Wines and our whole school relies on her calm demeanor, ability to solve problems, and her endless positivity.”
How long does it take you to get back into the rhythm of the school year?
It takes several weeks or even a month to get back into the swing of things each school year. In kindergarten, this time is spent on what it means to be in school. Many of my students have been in
Young 5’s or preschool classrooms so they are familiar with school. Our daily routines are solidified by week 4 or so and when this happens, it is fantastic! My goal is for kindergarteners to make choices, both academic and play-based, during our morning and afternoon center blocks independently. This is a time for children to connect, ask each other questions, discover new things
about our classroom and each other, and more. This is all going on while I am meeting with individuals or small groups. It takes a while for everything to click but once it does, all is right in our kindergarten world. We have officially made it to that point in this school year and I am so thankful!
At home, the routines change from our time being together during summer as well. It’s back to packing lunches each night, meal prepping on the weekend, and the morning rush to get out the door. I love the busyness and in moments of stress, I try to remind myself how lucky I am to do what I love and to have my own children close by during my days at work. Bedtimes and early wake-ups can feel tough but they are usually worth it.
Are you pleased with the education you received growing up in the Ann Arbor Public Schools?
I love AAPS and had the best experiences in all schools I attended here. I absolutely loved Slauson and had some amazing teachers that I enjoyed learning from. It crossed my mind to become a middle school English teacher because I loved my experience there so much. I feel fortunate my daughters are able to attend AAPS since both my husband and I work here. I have been so happy with all of their teachers and experiences in school so far. A fun fact is that my oldest daughter went to Dicken for kindergarten, before moving to Wines in first grade, and was in the exact same classroom that I was in when I went to kindergarten there many years ago! The education I received in AAPS has helped me become a dedicated and passionate teacher.
Any tips for new teachers?
Try to remember that you are each of your student’s person. Even in times they may not be showing it, you are one of the top most important people in their lives.
How do you let your students know they belong?
I work really hard to make my classroom a community where we all take care of each other. In kindergarten that looks like us having classroom conversations to help us sort out our feelings.
It looks like books of all different varieties being read and available in our library. It looks like each student being greeted every day by myself and their classmates. I want my kindergarteners to know that they matter and they are special and I’m so happy to see them each day.
What inspired you to become a teacher?
I loved school for as long as I can remember. I loved forming relationships with my teachers, reading books from the class library, and making new friends. I can remember thinking in kindergarten that it was so much fun to come here every day, I should just do this forever! I adored my kindergarten teacher and the different ways she made learning fun. I did a lot of babysitting and nannying throughout high school and college and have always had a strong passion for working with young children.
Why kindergarten?
I always say that kindergarten is the happiest place to be! This age group is full of curiosity, willingness to try, and compassion. My students make me laugh with their stories and random bits of information they share during the day and my heart is warmed each time I notice a kind act happening throughout the room. I think that kindergarten-aged students have so much to listen to each day and they absorb it in this amazing way. The growth that kindergarteners make throughout the year is wonderful to see. In kindergarten, we can read any book, dance whenever we want, and
make up a song for anything. If I’m looking for my class to quiet down, I can start singing a days of the week song or a line-up song, or a completely made-up song, and all of a sudden, everyone is either singing with me or stopping to see what’s going on. Kindergarten is full of excitement over anything, big or small, and I love that my class can match my energy when I am filled with joy about something new we are doing or exciting news that I’m sharing.
Do you feel that you and other kindergarten teachers have a special bond? Personality traits in common?
I love to chat with other teachers because it is hard to truly have someone who is not a teacher understand certain stories from the classroom. Kindergarten teachers can picture the fun scenarios
that happen each day from the stories that are told and love to make connections with each other. If I had to choose one characteristic that all kindergarten teachers likely have, it would be patience. You must have patience to teach kindergarten!
At Wines, the Young 5’s/Kindergarten team makes my job a dream. We are unique in that we work together closely, run almost everything by each other, and look out for each other in any way we can. I student taught at Wines in kindergarten with our current Young 5’s teacher and one of my kindergarten colleagues was my student teacher a few years ago. We are a very close team and I love what I do even more because of them.
What’s the best compliment anyone could give you?
The best compliment I could get is that my classroom environment makes a child feel so loved and happy. I work really hard to make my classroom a space where all students feel welcome and eager to come to each day. If a parent shares with me their child’s excitement to spend their days in my classroom, it makes me feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.
In your eight years in AAPS, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned about teaching? About learning?
I would say the most important thing I’ve learned about teaching in my 8 years in AAPS is that it is all going to get done. I like to think that I’m pretty calm and laid back but there are times when it feels like the list of to-do’s is so long that I’m unsure how it could all possibly get done. I’ve learned to prioritize- what is most important and what can wait? I make daily to-do lists to help me stay organized and it never gets old crossing something off that has been completed.
What’s the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my school day is our daily read-aloud. I adore reading to my students and am always amazed at their focus and interest in the books I choose. Many of the books we read are from a series or by the same author and this always gets the class so excited. We love to make connections while reading, think about how characters are like us, and think about what might happen next. We are very into Ladybug Girl and all her adventures!
Apps you can’t live without:
I love Pinterest to help me meal plan each week for my family. I find so many fun recipes there and use it to make my weekly grocery lists. I also am always checking the weather on my weather app.
What makes teaching at Wines unique?
I feel very strongly about Wines, both as a teacher and a parent in this community. I think it is an amazing place to be for students, staff members, and family members. Wines is unique because of the community that is seen surrounding the school. I love that our staff takes care of each other and that our principal, Dr. DeYoung, trusts us as teachers to make decisions that are right for our classes. We are given support and appreciation for what we do daily, which is not always easy! As a parent of a Wines graduate, current Wines student, and future Wines student, the families my own children have met and connected with are one-of-a-kind. I’m grateful and proud of our community and happy to come to work each day.
What is the most rewarding part of teaching?
The most rewarding part of teaching is seeing a student smile. The smiles can come from a long list of reasons: finding out that their parent is coming to help in the classroom today, discovering that today is breakfast for hot lunch, finding the ball that was brought from home that went missing and so many more examples. My favorite smiles are when I say something that I think was funny and it actually turns out it was funny! I also love to see friends helping each other when there are sad feelings and going out of their way to be kind, which is something we talk about trying to do daily.
How do you recharge?
I recharge in a lot of different ways. I wake up pretty early with my alarm set for 4:30 a.m. and get going on the day then. I learned a couple of years ago that for me, it is best to wake up before my kids and have a few hours to get things settled and take some time for me before I’m really there for them. After waking up early during the week, I sleep in some on the weekend to catch up on rest. To recharge, I run most days, bake bread, muffins, or scones a few times a week, and am always trying to read as much as I can.
How do you spend your summers?
My family is on the same schedule throughout the year, so during the school year we all go to school each morning. In the summer we are all off together! We spend a lot of time together, going on trips and playing outside. We like to go to the Farmers’ Market and go swimming. I also have been able to tutor the past three summers which has been the best because I can make my own schedule and still get that time to teach and connect with kids. We adore summers and the memories we get to make together as a family.
What’s most exciting about your professional life right now? Your personal life?
In my professional life, I am super excited to be sharing the lead teacher role at Wines with our fantastic PLTW teacher. In my personal life, I am currently taking my fifth class in a master’s program at Arkansas State University. By the end of the next summer, I’ll have my master’s degree in reading which will feel very rewarding.
