South Whittier School District’s Teacher of the Year award for 2021 to 2022 was awarded to Richard L. Graves Middle School teacher, Amanda Riisager.
In addition to being South Whittier’s Teacher of the Year, Riisager was also recognized as one of LA County’s Teachers of the Year. She was 1 of 16 teachers to be chosen for LA County’s prestigious award out of 56 teachers.
“This has been one of the most humbling experiences of my career,” Riisager shared. “There are so many amazing teachers in our district and county, but I was chosen for this title and I am immensely honored by the recognition.”
Ms.Riisager has been a teacher for the last 15 years and has taught English Language Arts, Drama, Coding, and Writing. Outside of the classroom she has become an integral part of the community through involvement in Drama Club, Coaching Volleyball, After School Intervention, a Gaming Twitch Stream, and a Dungeons and Dragon Gaming Club.
Riisager shared that she believes teaching is not just a job but is a calling that comes with great responsibility. What she loves about her job is that though she has studied for many years and has perfected her craft as an educator as much as she can, she gets to learn from her students every day.
“A good friend, colleague, and fellow past Teacher of the Year once told me, ‘Teaching is the hardest job you will ever love.’ I always knew she was right, but the last few years have impressed upon me the reality that this is so much more than just a job to me, I was meant to be here, in this moment, for my students.”
Riisager shared that looking back at her own educational experience what she took away the most was how many of her teachers balanced high expectations with empathy and kindness.
“I try my best to continue this legacy in my own classroom. I strive for every child who enters my room to feel like they are coming home. I embrace and encourage them to be silly, smart, and adventurous by showing them those characteristics in myself. Most of all, when they make mistakes I still love them; that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences, but at the end of the day, I make it clear tomorrow we get to start again and I expect we will all do better.”