This week, we’re showing our #CPSDPride by giving a #SuperSchoolShoutout to Carter Lake Elementary School with reading interventionist Katie Johnson and fifth grader Isabella DiMase.
In Katie’s third year as a teacher at Carter Lake, she continues to find new things to love each day. “The teachers are incredible, and I feel so lucky to have ended up here,” she said. “I love teaching on a military base, and you can feel how these parents prioritize education.
Katie works with students from kindergarten to second grade to build their foundational reading skills. She likes to teach phonics because it makes reading logical and easy to follow. “I get to see their growth first-hand, and it feels tremendously rewarding,” she said. “I am also constantly learning alongside students, so I can see myself building my knowledge as they progress.”
Reading is Katie’s passion, so she feels grateful to instill her love of reading into students. “I ultimately want my students to become readers for life even if it is tricky for them at first,” she said.
Isabella has been at Carter Lake since kindergarten and has grown to become a great student leader. “The teachers here push us to be our best,” she said. “I like helping the school and I’ve gotten so many opportunities for this in fifth grade.”
Isabella enjoys reading and is finessing her math skills. However, her favorite projects combine writing with her scientific curiosity. “This year, I wrote an essay on energy and thermodynamics,” she said. “Also last year, I won the top award at the district STEAM Fair for my project about creating a filtration system to improve drinking water.”
In addition to being a star student, Isabella is Carter Lake’s ASB President and plays basketball, baseball and soccer after school. She is excited to continue learning and growing in sixth grade and hopes to one day become a lawyer or an actor like Anne Hathaway.
Go Eagles!