Agnes Meyer Winner Connects With Kids

First-grade teacher Angela Sims assists Henry Romero, above left, and Daisha Danson during a reading lesson at Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center. Below right, she arranges words to help students in the dual English-Spanish language immersion program sharpen their language skills. (Photos By James M. Thresher -- The Washington Post)

While growing up in Halifax, Va., Angela Sims often lined up her dolls, pretending they were students, and held classes for them.

These days, she stands before real students each day as a first-grade teacher at the Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center school in Adams Morgan. Her deep connection to her students, her warm attitude and cooperative spirit make her one of the field's best, her principal and fellow teachers say.

Sims will be honored in a ceremony tonight at The Washington Post as the winner of the Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award for the District. The Post award, which includes a $3,000 prize and a Tiffany crystal apple, is given annually to extraordinary teachers in the Washington region, one from each of the area's 19 public school districts, including charter schools, and one private school teacher.

As part of a dual English-Spanish language immersion program, Sims teaches reading, math, science and social studies in English and works closely with a colleague who teaches the same subjects in Spanish. She has worked at the school for 10 years in a career that has included teaching special education, being a member of the school's restructuring team of teachers and parents, and serving as summer school principal last year.

Sims said that over the years, she has developed a focus on making sure her students know the basics.

"I think a child should be able to read," said Sims, 33.

In her class, there are students of mixed abilities, including some below grade level and some above. She dutifully keeps track of their individual strengths and weaknesses and has turned her desk into a place to show off their accomplishments, such as their fluency.

Some of her students hear English only at school, Sims said, so she turns even little conversations into opportunities for learning. For example, when she gives students a page number, she asks them whether the number is even or odd. It allows them to pick up more vocabulary and freshen their math skills, she said.

"I'm trying to get it right for second grade," Sims said. "It's important to evaluate what's working and not. You don't wait for failure."

With 17 students assembled on the floor recently, Sims read to them "Puppy Love," which featured colorful drawings of different breeds of dogs. She read slowly and in an expressive, animated voice. All along, she asked questions ("What does an illustrator do?") to keep the students engaged.

Principal Dayo Akinsheye said there is a connection between Sims and her students that is visible to everyone who watches her work.

"She knows the children, and she knows what they need," Akinsheye said. "She knows not only their academic needs but when they're not feeling well, when something at home could be affecting their learning."

Sims graduated from George Mason University and has advanced degrees in early childhood and adult education from Howard University, the University of the District of Columbia and Regent University.

Sims has a strong sense of confidence and is always willing to assist other teachers, art teacher Darrell Williams said. With Sims's help last year, Williams said, he secured an arts grant from the District's Textile Museum. The partnership brought museum speakers to the school and will allow the students to exhibit their work at the museum in an upcoming show.

"She's always applying and looking for opportunities for grants and other things," Williams said. "She's a very supportive teacher."

Never satisfied with the status quo, Sims is going through the National Board Certification process, the highest credential in teaching. The voluntary program takes more than a year to complete and requires teachers to show how their activities inside and outside the classroom improve student learning.

"At the end of the year, you want to know that you tried hard and you pushed," Sims said. "That's when you evaluate, 'What did I do and why? What did the children learn?' You never want to give up on a child."