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9Teachers Who Care: From nurse to teacher

HIGHLANDS RANCH - Darlene Blood worked as a nurse for many years. Yes, she's heard all the jokes about her name and her profession. But when her adopted son's teacher made a big difference in his life, she said "that's what I want to do". Mrs. Blood became a teacher.

"I was just at that school all the time". she told me, "and one of the teachers said 'you missed your calling'. I thought, I did miss my calling, and I feel like I'm really called to be a teacher and I love it."

Mrs. Blood teaches 4th grade at Cherry Hills Christian School. She was nominated for the 9Teachers Who Care award by some of her former students. She made a real impact in their lives. According to the students, reading and writing are her passions. But when you watch her, you can tell that caring about her students is her real passion. Mrs. Blood says "When you love kids they feel it. What is that old saying? They don't care about what you know, until they know that you care. I believe that."

Her class has some unique things happening. Sometimes she lets the kids chew gum. She says she learned in college that it helps increase engagement andability to concentrate. Plus she says, "it makes the class room smell good!" She also refers to her students as "my friends", and she means it. She spends a lot of class time working individually with every one of them, making sure they understand the assignment.

Congratulations toDarlene Blood, ourJanuary 9TeachersWho Care award winner.

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