Madeline Burkemper

Position: Fourth Grade TeacherSchool: Little Blue Elementary SchoolSchool District: Raytown Quality SchoolsCity, State: Kansas City, Missouri
About the Nominee: Madeline Burkemper was nominated by a colleague, Alex Tompkins.Alex Tompkins says that in the five years she has been teaching, she has never met anyone like Madeline Burkemper. That she is, by far, one of the hardest-working, most supportive and positive teachers one could ever meet!Ms. Burkemper started at Little Blue Elementary School two years ago. She has only completed two years of teaching, but she is already remarkable. In fact, she has been an amazing teacher since day one. Ms. Burkemper is a LifeChanger in so many ways to her students, coworkers and the parents of her students. No matter what she does, she gives 100%. Here are a few examples of some ways Ms. Burkemper has changed the lives of her students:Ms. Burkemper does not ask for a lot. Her school principal is more than willing to give teachers whatever they need, but she will always be cautious and caring about what she asks for, simply because she wants her coworkers to have extra money to spend. She will spend hours coming up with something to save the school money before ever thinking to ask for it herself. For example, many Little Blue teachers have switched to a "flexible seating" environment in their classrooms. This means that students are able to sit where they feel comfortable (bean bags, exercise balls, etc). Ms. Burkemper went out of her way to write a special grant this year so that her students could have some fun places to sit, without the school having to pay for it out of their budget. She raised awareness and got the grant funded in less than 24 hours! She knew she wanted her students to have the special seating, but she also didn't want it to come from the school budget, so she thought outside the box and still made it happen.Another way Ms. Burkemper has been a LifeChanger for her students is the way she creates relationships with them. Ms. Burkemper can tell you anything and everything about her students. She knows their likes, dislikes, fears, motivators and so much more. She is the epitome of a dedicated teacher! Ms. Burkemper will analyze every situation so that she can do what is best for her students. She has so much fun with them, but also holds them to high expectations. Therefore, she sees great results.Ms. Burkemper is a remarkable teacher and human being. She is a Lifechanger because of the hard work that she displays every single day![nominee_videos nominee_email="Madeline.burkemper@raytownschools.org"]