Kyle Russo

Russo taking a selfie with a few students. ( Provided by Kyle Russo)

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always known that I wanted to work with kids. There are a lot of different jobs that you can have that involve kids, so I was not sure of which one I wanted to do. But ever since I met Kyle Russo, I knew that teaching was the job for me. I have known Mr. Russo since I was in the third grade at Bathgate Elementary School in Mission Viejo, California. One day he came into my class to read us a story that intrigued all of us and we thought he was really funny. The way he interacted and made us laugh attracted me to him and his career since he had such a great connection with kids. Being a teacher and being successful at it takes hard work and dedication. My goal in this career is to have the same effect on kids from my teaching that Russo has had on me.

Kyle Russo standing in his classroom. (Provided by Kyle Russo)

Russo works at Bathgate Elementary as a fifth grade teacher. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, in 2012 an elementary school teachers median pay is about $53,090 per year. Knowing how much you are going to make per year is important to most people. Some expect to make a lot of money so that they are able to afford everything that they own, while others don't really care about how much they make because they love what they do. Regardless of the money, you should be in a career where you look forward to work every day and strive for happiness. Do something that makes you happy. The educational and credential requirements for becoming an elementary school teacher is getting a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited university, teacher preparation program (credential program, including student teaching), basic skills requirement, being able to demonstrate subject matter competency with passage of the test: California Subject Examinations for Teachers, and Test Preparation Programs which are often provided by the school district or county office of education for teachers with less than a Preliminary Credential. You can contact the Personnel Office for this information. The future outlook of being a teacher is that you will probably be a teacher your entire working career until you decide to retire. Some might say that from teaching for so long that you will get sick of it, but in my opinion that will not be the case. By teaching for such a long time you are able to watch your students grow up and mature into young adults and see how far they have come since they were in your class. It may make you feel old sometimes because you might have some of these kids in kindergarten and now they are adults with a family of their own, but it will be an amazing feeling to see how successful they are.

Russo and his wife on their wedding day. (Provided by Kyle Russo)

Kyle Russo was born in Pennsylvania on November 1st. He grew up half in Pennsylvania and also half in California. As a student, Russo was always very outgoing yet serious at the same time. In college he attended Cal State Fullerton and majored in American Studies. He graduated with honors in 2000, but actually started training for his teaching career earlier in 1992 through student teaching. His student teaching experiences lead right into his first teaching job and he officially became a teacher at 26. Russo is successful because he loves what he does. A quote by Nelson Mandela from Brainy Quote states, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Likewise, education has always been very important to Russo. He took school very seriously and was successful at it too. Being educated helps you grow as a person and allow you to understand new things clearer and to educate others as well. Education is one of the most important things in the world and if everyone took school seriously and tried their best, our country would be much better off. He also brings together a passion for the job and a commitment for excellence. He is constantly getting better and success is always one step away but worth striving for. Nowadays he is still teaching at Bathgate Elementary and cannot think of another thing that he would rather be doing. Russo is happily married to his wife Nina and has two kids named Landon and Maddie. Family is very important to him and so they enjoy taking family vacations to either Europe or the local mountains.

Russo with his two children. (Provided by Kyle Russo )

Russo contributes to society one child at a time, by helping to sculpt creative thinking and logic. He will be remembered because he truly cares about his students and goes above and beyond for not just his class, but for the entire school. I believe he is good at what he does because there is nothing else he would rather do that would make him this happy ant that is truly inspiring. He loves what he does so much that his job isn't even considered work to him anymore. Kelly Anderson is someone who has worked with and has become good friends with Russo over the years said that, "He brings a needed perspective to education." The way that he teaches is fun and active instead of being serious all of the time and making the class boring. He has children of his own so he knows how children are feeling and connects well with them. Everyone I know who has had Russo as a teacher loved being in his class.

Russo when he was younger along with his son. (Provided by Kyle Russo )

For myself I plan to graduate high school with a 3.8 GPA or higher. I plan on during high school to go and observe Russo's class while he is on the job. In college I will be attending the University of Oregon and want to major in Educational Foundations with a Masters Teaching Degree. I do not plan on permanently relocating to Oregon once I am out of college, but it will be a great experience living there for about four years. Once I get out of college I may consider being involved with getting into student teaching experiences just like Russo. Russo has put a positive impact in my life by teaching me to always try to make others successful because by making them successful you can also make yourself more successful as well. When I am older and hopefully become a teacher, my success will come from my students' success. As long as they are learning and benefitting from my teaching, I will be too. Since I will be getting my teaching credential in Oregon, I may have to do extra work since I will be moving back to California, yet I am hoping that my credential will be able to transfer over. I plan on learning new things every day from my students. Not only will I be educating them, but they will be educating me at the same time. Every day I will be looking forward to coming to class to teach and hopefully my students will do the same and be excited to learn. I have learned so much from Mr. Russo and he has given me a new outlook on teachers and it makes me realize that they are not as appreciated as they should be. He really inspires me not only as a teacher, but as a role model. Kyle Russo is without a doubt my personal career hero.