The School District of Washington is excited to take part in the “STL Teacher Proud” campaign, put on by Education Plus, as an effort to highlight the amazing teachers who choose to serve the St. Louis community and inspire others to join the noble profession of teaching. On the second Tuesday of each month, we’ll highlight a SDOW teacher who chooses to make a difference every day.
Teacher Proud Tuesday – Keith Thacker, First Grade Teacher, Campbellton Elementary
Keith Thacker has been with the School District of Washington for 10 years, including five years at Campbellton Elementary. He’s been a first-grade teacher at Campbellton for three years after working two years at Campbellton in special education. Prior to Campbellton, Thacker spent three years at Washington West Elementary and two years at Washington Middle School in the special education departments.
Before coming to Washington, Thacker spent seven years with the Sullivan School District, four years at St. Clair R-XIII, and one year at the Cuba School District. He worked in special education at all three districts. Overall, Thacker has been in education for 22 years.
“I enjoy teaching because I get to see the aha moments students have when they have learned the content, practice the content, and then apply it,” Thacker said. “I love being a life-long learner and bringing new learning experiences into the classroom. Not everyone learns in the same way, so bringing in differentiated strategies and having students learn what works best for them and use multiple strategies to apply their learning is what makes teaching a rewarding experience. When you see students who want to learn more, that's how you know you've instilled a passion of learning for life.”
Thacker enjoys being a part of the Campbellton Elementary staff.
“I enjoy teaching at Campbellton Elementary because there is a sense of belonging here. We are a small but mighty school where everyone here is family from the kids, to the parents, and the staff,” Thacker said. “We are supportive of one another and as the saying goes, ‘it takes a village.’ I'm glad to call my village, Campbellton Elementary in the School District of Washington.”
“Mr. Thacker is excellent at determining what his students needs are by collecting data and then analyzing the data to differentiate instruction. He is great at building relationships with his students, has high expectations for them, and his students always make a lot of growth while in his classroom,” said Campbellton Elementary Principal Jennifer Meyer. “Mr. Thacker is continually learning and then coming back and implementing ideas in his classroom as well as sharing with the staff. One of the projects that his students most enjoy is a service learning project that raises money for childhood cancer research. Team player is definitely a way to describe Mr. Thacker. He is always the first one to volunteer in any way he can to help others. Many times he is helping before you even know that you needed help.”
