Every great teacher is a student at heart. They are women and men of curiosity and imagination, always interested in learning something new, and able to envision a life shaped by what they have learned. They have a deep capacity for empathy and wonder, the ability to be moved greatly both by others and by the surrounding world. They are ready to lead and encourage their scholars on a parallel journey.
Great Hearts teachers come from around the country to join a family of colleagues who share a love of learning and teaching. Together, their passion brings each campus to life as an inviting home for students to build lasting relationships and grow in virtue.
What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the [individual] who instructs the rising generation. -Marcus Tullius Cicero de Divinatione
Great Hearts employs teachers across all liberal arts subjects, in areas that other schools have cut or simply have teachers carry double duty. We also help our teachers develop the tools and skills they need to engage each student’s curiosity.
Each member of our faculty participates in new faculty training, in-services, reading groups and seminars that not only speak to issues of pedagogy (the art and science of teaching) but also help create a family environment within each Great Hearts school and our network as a whole.
As with the way we educate our students, our approach to our faculty is one aimed at the whole individual. The men and women on whose shoulders we build our schools haven’t just checked off a list of competencies; rather, they live meaningful lives of inquiry and virtue, and they invite our students to do the same.
BROOKE LUCERO Teacher of the Year
Recognizing her outstanding achievement as a teacher in the field of special education, Brooke Lucero of Great Hearts Northern Oaks (San Antonio, Texas) has received the coveted Teacher of the Year Award from the Texas Charter School Association.
It’s hard to pick out just one success story, because all of our students become success stories.
As an educator, Ms. Lucero inspires students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn. She helps her students experience a cognitive shift that doesn’t let their disability define them. She attributes her success to using the Socratic method, an inclusion-based classroom model, and various learning styles, strategies, accommodations, modifications, positive reinforcement and behavior analysis.
“I love that every Great Hearts teacher is committed to cultivating the hearts and minds of students through truth, goodness and beauty, which not only helps children become well-rounded, but also gives them confidence that they have the ability to change the world around them,” said Ms. Lucero.
