Being a teacher has been Jennifer Bellot’s calling for as long as she can remember.
“I have always enjoyed children,” she says. “So I’ve always wanted to make an impact on the children. Teaching was the only option for me to go.”
And for the last two-plus decades Bellot has been making an impact on elementary school students. Her most treasured years spent in the kindergarten classroom at Woodvale Elementary in Lafayette.
“It’s a fabulous school,” Bellot says. “The children are wonderful the parents are helpful and wonderful,”
As most could imagine, kindergarten is exhausting. But more importantly, Bellot says its exciting. At the beginning of the year, Bellot says that many of the children she teaches come into her classroom not knowing how to read or their own names. But, she says, by the end of the year, those students have begun to read and write sentences.
“Everyday somebody else’s lightbulb goes off. It’s amazing to see their growth.”
Between learning how to read and interacting with others, Bellot has a heavy workload each year. She credits great kids for her success in education. But Bellot says she’s still surprised one of them is giving the credit back to her.
“I am so overwhelmed and I’m so humbled,” says Bellot. “I’m still in disbelief that someone actually took the time to write such a letter for me to be here.”
Her passion is evident in her eyes and palpable in her classroom, so Bellot’s plans for the future shouldn’t shock anyone.
“I’m not leaving this room,” she says. “I will be here until it’s time for me to go. Unless they kick me out first!”