Teacher in the Spotlight

Abigail “Nabby” Casteel, Fourth Grade, Dent Elementary School, Escalon

by JAMIE MENAKER

We love Nabby Casteel for her spirit. San Joaquin loves Nabby Casteel for this and more—she was voted this year’s San Joaquin Teacher of the Year.

Once a student of the same elementary school where she now teaches, Casteel has reinstated the activities that she remembers most from her own school days, programs like the annual school carnival and science fair, and a marathon club to encourage kids to run and stay healthy. The carnival has now become an annual fundraiser for the school, and winners of the science fair go on to the San Joaquin Country science competition, but Casteel just wants the kids to have as memorable of an experience as she did.

“The kids love the carnival,” she says. “And the first year, before we knew it we had made $3,000 for the school. I’m so lucky to have a lot of support from the school and parents—it makes it so much easier to get things done.”

Casteel’s marathon club allows the kids to run laps around the grass field and earn a charm for every five miles they run. When they’ve banked enough laps to equal a full marathon, they earn a t-shirt to celebrate the accomplishment.

In the classroom, Casteel’s commitment to the children’s elementary school experience captures the same excited spirit. A fourth grade teacher, Casteel loves the curriculum and teaching the students about everything California.

“What could be more interesting than learning about where we live?” she says. “We learn about sharks, and the Gold Rush, and the missions. We visit Mission Carmel, Point Lobos, stay at Asilomar beach, and visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. For some of the kids, it’s their first time ever seeing the ocean.”

Additionally, Casteel is certified in the Guided Language Acquisition Program (GLAD) to create a unified, more accessible learning experience for her class. “For a lot of my students, English is not necessarily their first language. This program makes the information more accessible for all students. They aren’t just reading out of a textbook—we have posters on the wall, pictures, charts, so they can really see it and learn more about what we are teaching.” She is also certified to train other teachers in the district to use the same strategies in their own classrooms.

“The most rewarding part of teaching is when you can tell that the kids have learned something, and when they get really excited about learning, especially when they’ve accomplished something they’ve really been struggling with.”

For more information: www.dentschool.org