This year, Bixby West Elementary welcomed a new teacher to the building: First grade teacher Ms. Lauren Sumler. This will be her first year in the classroom and she is already loving it. She is especially glad to have her mother, Mrs. Shelly Sumler–a 20-year teaching veteran– just down the hall for anything she may need as she enters her new role.
Mrs. Sumler has taught Pre-K, first grade, and found her niche in kindergarten. In these first few weeks of school, she has enjoyed watching her daughter thrive in the classroom and could not be more proud. The two even ride together to and from school and are so glad to have each other nearby. Each believes the opportunity to teach in the same building is “like a dream.” Ms. Sumler is particularly glad to have a seasoned teacher just down the hall who can tailor advice specifically for her, because “that’s what moms do.”
Ms. Sumler was inspired to become a teacher by four generations of teachers before her and believes it is what she is meant to do. Mrs. Sumler describes her daughter’s way of teaching as very natural, as if it is second nature. She remembers a moment from Ms. Sumler’s childhood where her PE teacher told her that: “Lauren is going to be a teacher,” because she had so much patience and loved to help out her special needs friends. As it happens, a quality that Ms. Sumler admires in her mom is her unbelievable patience and gentle nature.
Because she attended BPS as a student starting in sixth grade, Ms. Sumler has had the opportunity to experience many of the wonderful things the Bixby community has to offer. Mrs. Sumler is excited though for her daughter to experience those things from a teacher's perspective, particularly the annual Special Olympics send-off, which is one of her favorite Bixby traditions.
Both natural-born teachers are loving this new journey, and the Bixby community is lucky to have such a wonderful pair as a part of it. When both Mrs. Sumler and Ms. Sumler were asked what their favorite part about being a teacher was, they responded: “The relationships.”