Teacher influences Jaime to choose education

By Meg J. Williams

Jaime Cech is Waterway Elementary’s Teacher Spotlight this week. She teaches 5th grade and is from Cortland, Ohio, and she loves the Ohio State Buckeyes!

Jaime followed her family down south in 2002. Her mother lives nearby in North Carolina but she still manages to get back up north to visit. Her older sister lives in Hershey, Pa., with her husband and four children. Before leaving Ohio, she taught two years there after graduating from Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in Education. Jaime has lived in the area for 17 years and has taught at Waterway for 16 years. She also has a masters degree from the United Sports Academy in Sports Management and Administration.

Ms. Cech loves to see former students come and tell her of their accomplishments and success since moving on to the middle school. That, along with seeing what their future holds, makes her job most rewarding.

Jaime says her 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Perry, influenced her to choose education as a career. Jaime was taught so many things that she still remembers today and still uses in her classroom. Years ago, she was challenged to write a thank you note to a teacher. She didn’t think twice on who it would be because Mrs. Perry deserved that note.

Ms. Cech loves history and heads up the 5th grade annual trip to Washington, D.C., every year. She just returned from her 8th year. Her love for history lends her a favorite quote of hers. “It’s okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers…they help us learn” By Abraham Lincoln.

When not teaching, Jaime loves to travel especially to Disney! She also loves to go shopping, go to the beach, relax and spend any time possible with her nieces and nephews.