Entering kindergarten as the first major step of an East Haven child’s education can be intimated for those as young as four. That’s where Grove J. Tuttle Elementary School teacher Samantha Lestage steps in to help a child succeed academically. But first, “they first need to feel love and safe in my classroom,” she says.

“Once that happens, I believe the learning can truly occur,” Samantha says.

Those were some of the words Lestage shared before East Haven Public Schools (EHPS) when she won the elementary school Teacher of the Year award in the school district she has called home for 12 years.

Samantha rounds out EHPS’ three total recipients of Teacher of the Year awards for educators. She recalls feeling very surprised at the prospect of winning the award before she officially received the accolade and has many thanks to her colleagues for considering her.

“I was honestly totally shocked and humbled to even be nominated, much less win the award. I was really humbled that one of my colleagues, you know, saw my love for teaching and the love and passion that I have for teaching and decided to nominate me,” says Samantha.

That “love and passion” she has for teaching comes down to her philosophy that establishing partnerships between all of those involved in kindergartener’s education “are crucial in the child’s learning experience.”

It does not stop at ensuring a safe environment where learning can flourish. It needs to be molded outside her classroom as well, says Samantha.

“In order to have a student succeed, I think there needs to be a strong relationship between a child’s parents and the teacher to have open communication about how the child is succeeding in the classroom [and] areas that they may need to work on,” she says. “Then the next partnership is really between the teacher and the other colleagues in the building. In terms of the custodial staff, and the reading specialist, math specialists, special ed teacher, because a lot of times all of those people play an important role as well in each student’s academic success.”

Samantha also gave a shout-out to Tuttle Principal Chris Brown and other faculty in the school district for his contributions and trust in her ability to support students in such a delicate time of their lives.

Collectively, Samantha views these partnerships as akin to “links in a bracelet.”

She elaborates, “Every student in East Haven has a bracelet, and if any of those links are weak on the chain or break, I really feel like it could really negatively impact our students. So it’s really important that each level of that partnership is strong. And as a teacher, we focus on improving all of those partnerships.”

The partnerships she forms with her students are her favorite aspects of her role as a kindergarten teacher. One of the ways she establishes them with all her students is by sharing a bit about her life. She’ll inform them of her family, her two cats, Muffin and Puffin, and her love for owls. It’s important for the students to know Samantha so they can feel comfortable letting her know about them, she says.

“Every Monday, the students…I give them the opportunity to share something that they did over the weekend or something they want to share with the class, and I’ll always join in and share with them something that I did,” Samantha says. “I think with building that bond, they quickly learned that I love them and I’m here for them. When they come into the classroom every day, they know it’s a safe place.”

Like safe places for owls, Samantha views her classroom as a nest from which she encourages her students to learn to fly on to their next adventure, “but that our owl nest —our classroom—is always here, and they can always come back to our nest anytime they need,” she says.

But in order for those students to have a successful flight, they follow her simple yet above all crucial rule: “Kindness is key.” Therein lies a chance for students to establish partnerships between themselves. She says it’s important that “If they do have a conflict with someone and someone does upset them, it’s important to learn the right words to express that they’re feeling upset or that they’re feeling angry,” and be able “to talk about it with their peer and resolve that problem.”

On the back of her accolade, Samantha looks forward to the upcoming school year to continue teaching her new students the importance of kindness, forming bonds and partnerships, and feeling safe in the classroom.

“I’m very honored to have been chosen as Teacher of the Year for elementary in East Haven, and I love teaching here in East Haven.”