Advice given to her by a peer will stay with Woodsdale Elementary School teacher Jamie Young for as long as she’s an educator, and she will share it with every new teacher she meets.
It was early in her career when Young was having a conversation with veteran teacher Susan Brossman, who has since retired from Woodsdale and Ohio County Schools. Young said she will always remember what she was told, and she even recited the words during a speech at Brossman’s retirement celebration.
“Love them (students) first, build the classroom family, and the learning will follow,” Young said. “Susan said that to me, and I will never forget it. To this day, I tell this to all my student teachers. She said it perfectly, and it couldn’t be more true. This is the time to build relationships. Parents want to know their children are loved and cared for.”
Young is entering her 14th year as a teacher at Woodsdale Elementary School. She spent her first year as a third-grade teacher, but she has been a first-grade teacher since then. Young said she always wanted to teach young students for very specific reasons.
“I think early education is amazing,” Young said. “They are so excited to learn, and it is my job to make learning exciting and fun. I want school to be a place where they want to be. It sets the tone for their future in education.”
Young loves teaching, and she loves Woodsdale Elementary School. She said she couldn’t imagine teaching at another school. Young is actively involved in student council because she likes to see how her former students have grown since they were in her first-grade classroom.
“The students, teachers and parents at Woodsdale are amazing,” she said. “Everyone is so supportive. They understand the students and their specific needs.”
Young is a 2002 graduate of Wheeling Park High School. She went on to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from West Liberty University. Her husband, Ryan Young, is a teacher at Wheeling Park High School where he is also the head coach of the Patriot girls basketball team.
Young’s daughter, Leah, will be a seventh grader at Triadelphia Middle School, and her daughter, Maggie, is entering fifth grade at Woodsdale Elementary School. Young said she and her husband love teaching in Ohio County Schools, and they are quite confident in the education their children are receiving.
“We believe in Ohio County Schools,” she said. “We believe in the mission, and we have a passion for teaching and teaching students with different needs and backgrounds.”
“I developed wonderful relationships at Woodsdale and throughout Ohio County Schools as a teacher and as a parent,” Young added. “Ohio County Schools offers so much.”
