With the school year well underway, we’re checking in with a teacher from Knapp School & Yeshiva to learn how the first few months have been going.

“The school year has been going great,” said Reyna Murphy, who teaches at the elementary level, grades 2 through 4. Her class size recently grew with the addition of a third student.

Knapp School & Yeshiva serves students from kindergarten through grade 12+, and its safe, supportive learning environment and small class sizes are geared toward students who have not succeeded in other educational settings.

Reyna said the small class size allows her to individualize her students’ needs and provide more one-on-one instruction. This is her first year teaching elementary students after a year working with middle school students in the Yeshiva.

She said there are definite differences in her approach to teaching the younger students in her class this year, and she enjoys how active the students are, as well as how motivated they are to learn and earn recess.

“One of the challenges is engagement time,” Reyna said. “It’s harder to engage them for long periods of time.”

So Reyna tries different techniques to make learning fun as she teaches them how to count money, tell time, write proper sentences and read aloud with comprehension.

“Finding the right balance is important for their success,” she said.

Dr. Diona Lewis, Principal at Knapp School & Yeshiva, says that Reyna comes to work every day with a smile, fostering a warm environment which nurtures the best from her students, regardless of the circumstance.

“Anyone who has the pleasure to see Reyna interact with her students will almost immediately see her passion, drive and influence to change the world for the young people who enter her class each day,” Dr. Lewis said. “Knapp School and Yeshiva is a better place because of her and what she does each day.”