Not everyone has an opportunity to receive a giant check, especially when it highlights exemplary qualities about the recipient. Audri Ence, of Bountiful, recently received a $500 check awarding a student teaching scholarship from the Davis School District. The school district raises funds for the scholarship from individuals and organizations throughout the county. The scholarship funds this year were evenly divided among nine deserving student teachers.

Ence is not a typical student. Some of her children had already finished their education in the Davis School District before she returned to college to pursue her elementary education degree. Although she already had an associates in finance, it was easier to just start at the beginning to get all the credits she needed for elementary education. She continued working as an art prep teacher at Oak Hills Elementary while attending college for two years and then quit her job to do the more intensive work which marks the last two years. Finishing her 12 solid weeks of student teaching around Thanksgiving will be the culmination of her goal to be a certified elementary school teacher. Ence is excited and thankful to be done and has already been accepted as a substitute teacher for the district.

Teaching 107 second graders at West Bountiful Elementary under the supervision of her mentor Ms. Stewart has been both challenging and rewarding. She has learned her students’ names and many of their learning styles as they rotate through her math and social studies classes. Her lesson plans encourage students to apply the skills they learn in real-life situations and to engage in peer-to-peer discussions to help instill a life-long love of learning. The five teachers in the second-grade team accepted Ence immediately taking her suggestions and listening to her concerns. “I will really miss my team and all the children I have come to know and love,” she said. “As a teacher I really want each of my students to succeed by meeting their individual needs.”

Teachers have a “million bosses” within the school district, including all the parents of students and other interested parties. Ence got a jump on waiting for a substitute teacher job. Recently her host teacher came down with a serious illness and Ence was able to keep the kids and classroom up to speed for a whole school week enjoying the “experience of being the only one in the classroom.” Ence’s husband, Joe, told a story of his wife who helped her team win a non-traditional softball game by being able to quickly say the alphabet backwards. “She really likes to be an asset to her team,” he said. 

Ence’s goal is be an asset to the excellent teacher teams in the Davis School District.