Alex Gangstead is in her third year as the LITE at Audelia Creek Elementary. She has been in education since 2010, taking a few years off to stay home with three kids when they were babies. She previously taught kindergarten in a different district and second grade at Forestridge Elementary.
“I love that I am able to work with every child in the building,” she said. “I see Pre-K through sixth grade and the centralized programs. It’s amazing to be able to walk the halls or go into the cafeteria and know almost every child by name. Because of this I am able to build relationships with students that grow every year. Because I work with every student in the building, I am able to greatly influence a culture of reading throughout the whole school. I love creating school wide events like Black History Month biography book review or partnering with programs like the Texas Book Festival’s Reading Rock Stars to bring authors into our school.”
Gangstead also attends grade level PLC’s to partner with teachers at every grade level. She knows it’s a big job but believes that it means she is uniquely qualified to help align student learning throughout the grade levels.
“I’m currently looking at how I can revise how I teach research skills to better align with the research projects students will be working on in the classroom next year.”
She is currently working with third-graders to perfect their Book Talks, hoping to have them read their book talks during the morning announcements to promote some of the great books available in the library.
