English teacher Janea Dennis was named Cy Ranch’s 2015-2016 Spotlight Teacher, a prestigious district honor that recognizes teachers who make an impact in their school. Dennis, one of only a handful of faculty members selected as Spotlight Teachers across the school district, was honored to receive this distinction.

“I was shocked,” she said. “I was grateful that all of the hard work I do was noticed.”

Dennis, who teaches English III L, K, AP, English III STAAR, and English IV AP, has been teaching for fifteen years, and has spent five of those years here at Ranch. She has spent that time creating an award-winning classroom and encouraging her students to succeed.

“I try very hard to push them to do their best,” she said. “What I make sure the students are learning to do is to begin to think for themselves. I try to create an environment where the students feel comfortable talking to me. I want to make sure that I gain their trust. Once I do that, I can push students beyond what they expected.”

Dennis’ passion for teaching started young. She recalls an elementary school math teacher who pushed her beyond her limits and inspired her to teach. This teacher put Dennis, who struggled in math, on the Number Sense team and had her compete in math competitions.

“Several times I didn’t come in very hot, but one time I came in third place,” she said. “So to be bad at math and for her to believe in me and push me to do something that was challenging inspired me to teach.”

Dennis’ primary goal in teaching is that she can encourage her students as much her teachers inspired her. In this pursuit, she’s learned to treasure the small steps.

“As a teacher, sometimes you have days when you feel you’re not making an impact,” she said. “But then you have those little moments, like maybe you have those students who have failed at something for a long time and then they pass, and you feel great. When your students are successful it makes you feel successful as well.”

Watching her students improve over the course of a year is priceless to Dennis. Her English III STAAR class, which teaches English to STAAR retesters, has seen vast improvements, going from four classes full of students who didn’t pass the STAAR to a mere ten students.

“When I introduce a particular novel or unit, the students usually find something,” she said. “For some of the students this will be their first time reading an entire novel. So just to have the ability to inspire, to connect with something they have in their mind that they hate doing, just makes you feel good.”

Dennis was also last year’s Pretty in Pink sponsor, a club that gave back to the community through beauty. The club would gather old Prom and Homecoming dresses and give them to students who couldn’t afford a dress of their own. The club also held a “Prom” for senior citizens at a local home.

“They were so happy that the younger kids took their time to spend a night with them,” she said.

Whether it is inside or outside the classroom, Dennis said that her job gives her immeasurable benefits.

“I’ve had really good students while I’ve been here at Cy Ranch,” she said. “Their smiles, when they come in class, and just knowing that they’re enjoying what they’re learning—that’s a reward you can’t really replace.”