Sonya Taylor

I have been a teacher for 26 years, and I am currently in my 6th year at KIPP St. Louis at KIPP Wisdom Academy, where I serve as a kindergarten lead teacher and grade-level chair. I started my career in a private school, and when that school closed, I found a position in the city of St. Louis. I took that position with hesitation because I wasn't sure what it was going to look like, feel like, or be like, but I found my place. I really began to realize that this was what I really wanted to do - to be in a place where quality education seemed to be missing in some places due to a lot of teachers not wanting to work within the city limits. I realized that every student, no matter what their demographic is, deserves quality education, and if I could be a part of that, that's what I wanted to do. My areas of expertise include driving results within my kindergarten classes. Every year, over 80% of my class is on level or proficient, and in the last few years, I've had over 90% of my students on level or proficient, which usually leaves just one or two students that are needing just a little bit of extra help. Another area of expertise is my classroom management and the environment that I create - it's a place where students gain structure, safety, love, and acceptance, which I believe is what helps me drive those results. In 2024, I received the highest teaching award within the KIPP school program, called the Harriet Ball Excellence in Teaching Award. I was nominated by my school, and then they picked 10 teachers out of over about 20,000 teachers to receive this award, and I was one of 10.