Mr. Landon Bell was nominated by Mrs. Larkin as Choice Schools Associates’ Staff Spotlighting Staff feature! Landon is starting his fourth year at New Branches and currently serves as the K-8 STEAM Educator and Technology Coordinator.
Landon always goes above and beyond to serve his coworkers in any way he can,” said Principal Larkin. “He is a true example of servant leadership… He’s always considering the needs of the staff with technology and how it can work to make their jobs easier. He communicates openly with staff and is a positive force – always encouraging the staff to think on the bright side of things no matter how difficult. He is innovative and initiates and implements programs for staff to help improve methods of teaching through technology.
1. How long have you been teaching at New Branches? What have your titles/roles been in that time period?
This is my fourth year teaching at New Branches. I have taught 4th and 5th Grade ELA and Science, and now I am the K-8 STEAM Educator and Technology Coordinator.
2. Why do you love New Branches/what’s your favorite part?
My favorite part of New Branches is the students. I love teaching them about science, technology, art and math! I missed seeing them during the building closure. They are like family, as is the entire staff!
3. What does servant leadership mean to you?
We all have something to give to our community; we all have gifts and abilities that can be used to make the world a better place. As Spider-man says, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
At New Branches, everyone is a vital piece to the puzzle of education and the ultimate success of our students, and I, like my team, am just a piece to the education puzzle. The gifts and abilities that I bring are there to help my fellow educators and fulfill our responsibility to the students, ensuring they have the tools and resources necessary to be successful in learning.
4. What made you want to jump in and embrace technology as well as helping your peers to embrace it? We noticed that you were one of the first Choice teachers to really embrace at-home learning with your awesome videos.
I grew up facing many adversities and learned at a young age that in moments of hardship, I need to push that much harder. When the school building closed and the normalcy of life changed overnight, our students needed us.
Technology was an area I was able to help staff and students with because it was the tool we needed to continue to provide for our students so that they could continue to thrive.
5. What do you love about teaching STEAM?
We incorporate STEAM with our school’s environmental theme. A lot of our projects are community-based learning projects. Last school year, we installed bluebird houses on our campus. Those birdhouses have live webcams that we were able to monitor throughout the spring and the summer.