By Rose Hamilton

As a child, Courtney Connell-Lovett ’04 wondered whether she was “dumb.” She repeated kindergarten, in part because of a learning disability and mild hearing loss.

“I struggled a lot,” Connell-Lovett says, “but I wanted to learn.”

And that she did. While in elementary school, Connell-Lovett decided to become a teacher. And this year she was named Educator of the Year by the Rotary Club in her hometown of Amesbury, Massachusetts, where she has taught elementary school for 17 years.

The club presents the award based on input from students, parents, and fellow teachers. In announcing the news on its website, the Rotary Club quoted one nominator who said Connell-Lovett “goes into school day in and day out with the mission to help improve her students, not just intellectually, but also socially and emotionally.

Connell-Lovett attributes her successful teaching career to a deep love of learning and compassion for students with learning challenges. She instinctively knows when a child may be struggling in her classroom and makes a point to reassure them that “we are going to work on this and not to worry.

She credits her time at Lasell for helping her become a confident and effective educator. While majoring in education at Lasell, she soaked up information, whether it was the history of public education or the stages of child development. But what mattered most was how the faculty, in particular Professor Sandra McElroy, helped her believe she could attain her goals.

She made me feel smart and successful, and it is so important when a teacher can make a student feel valuable, says Connell-Lovett.

After graduation, Connell-Lovett returned to Amesbury and worked as a substitute teacher for a year before being hired full time at Cashman Elementary, the same school she attended as a child. While teaching, she has earned two master s degrees, one in elementary education and the other in reading instruction, from Salem State University.

Connell-Lovett often reflects on the time she asked McElroy to share her educational philosophy. She was prepared for a long answer so was surprised by the professor s simplistic response: “What works is what works.

The simplicity of it just floored me,” Connell-Lovett says, "but I have adopted it as my own philosophy. What matters is connecting with kids coming from all different places and finding a way to reach them individually. No kid is the same and what works is what works."