Robert Asp teacher named one of two Moorhead Teachers of the Year
January 27, 2017
As a freshman in college, Tammy Ressler began working at an agency that serves people with disabilities. It was during this time she discovered her passion for working with people with special needs.
“I believe all students, regardless of their disability can learn,” said Ressler, now a learner support services teacher at Robert Asp Elementary School. “They may learn at different rates and in different ways, but all make progress that can’t always be measured on standardized tests.”
Ressler and Moorhead High teacher Angie Jelinek have been named the 2017 Moorhead Teachers of the Year.
Ressler has been a special education teacher for Moorhead Area Public Schools for 22 years. She graduated from Moorhead State University, now Minnesota State University Moorhead, in 1994 with a degree in special education and began teaching students of various disabilities at Moorhead High School. In 2009 she transferred to Robert Asp Elementary School. Ressler earned her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with an assistive technology certificate from University of St. Thomas in 2006, and she is a member of the Moorhead cadre for the state’s Universal Design for Learning (UDL) team.
“Through my training in Universal Design, I have learned it is vital to motivate and stimulate my learners, find a variety of ways to present information to my students and differentiate the ways my students can express what they have learned,” Ressler said. “Implementing UDL strategies when planning my lessons has helped me reach many more learners in my room.”
Ressler also has shared her knowledge of UDL with her colleagues — both general education and special education — and she seeks ways this can be applied in the general education setting for all students.
“I believe it is my job to create a classroom environment that supports my students’ emotional, social and educational needs,” Ressler said. “I realize the importance of being able to create authentic learning experiences in the classroom that build upon students’ knowledge. In my room we celebrate all levels of progress, much of which is not decided by a test score, but by my day-to-day observations and interactions with students.”
Chris Triggs, Robert Asp Elementary principal, believes Ressler uses her classroom time efficiently to advance her students’ learning.
“She will also advocate positively for her students if they are not obtaining proper classroom support and will work with that classroom teacher to ensure learning continues in the regular classroom,” he said.
Ressler believes it is vital to build a rapport with her students and parents.
“I am a teacher who provides and appreciates open, honest feedback and communication with students, parents and colleagues,” she said.
“Mrs. Ressler’s ability to connect with her students and form meaningful relationships with them and their families has helped her to move them academically and functionally in the school setting,” Triggs said. “She works with some of the most challenging learners in our school setting but is continuously finding ways to offer instructional support that is meaningful and connected to the regular classroom curriculum.”
Ressler is honored to be named Robert Asp Teacher of the Year and to share the Moorhead Teacher of the Year recognition with Jelinek. However Ressler feels she doesn’t work alone.
“I am the teacher that I am because of the great team of paraprofessionals with whom I work,” she said.
“Mrs. Ressler has been a positive force on our staff, especially to our special education staff where she models professionalism and a great attitude toward all of her students,” Triggs said. “Teachers and paraprofessionals request to work with her because of these qualities.”
The Education Moorhead Communications Committee, which selected both Ressler and Jelinek as Moorhead Teachers of the Year, acknowledged Ressler’s qualities as a teacher.
"Tammy Ressler has many wonderful qualities that make her one of Moorhead’s top teachers: hard-working, patient, innovative and creative team player. Tammy personalizes instruction for each of her students to be successful, and she is always focused on the whole child,” the committee said in a statement.
Other candidates for Teacher of the Year were Aura Lee Mohror, English and English learners teacher at Red River Area Learning Center; Janelle Frost-Geiser, social studies teacher at Horizon Middle School; Jessica Rieniets, fourth- and fifth-grade Spanish Immersion teacher at Ellen Hopkins Elementary; Melissa Kyser, first-grade teacher at S.G. Reinertsen Elementary; and Shelly Hanson, early childhood special education teacher at Probstfield Center for Education. Watch for profiles on Jelinek and the Teacher of the Year building representatives in the coming months.
Photo caption: Tammy Ressler, learner support services teacher at Robert Asp Elementary School and one of two 2017 Moorhead Teachers of the Year, uses a variety of strategies, including use of technology, to engage students and strengthen their multiplication skills.
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