WTOC Top Teacher: Catherine Beecher

METTER, Ga. (WTOC) - At Metter Elementary School, third graders are learning more than just math — they’re learning confidence. And it starts with their teacher, Catherine Beecher.

“I grew up in a household full of math whizzes, between bankers and accountants, and math is just kind of my thing because that’s all I heard my whole life,” Beecher said.

That lifelong connection to math now shapes how she teaches. But for Beecher, the goal in her classroom goes far beyond getting the right answer. She wants every student to believe in themselves , and to encourage one another along the way.

That impact is something her students notice every day.

“Mrs. Catherine helps me with math, and if I get it wrong she will help me,” said student Bowen-Anne Brantley. “She’s just a really great teacher and she helps everybody.”

For Beecher, teaching children at this age is something special.

“It’s so precious. You get these children that are 8 and 9 years old — we learn lots of big things,” she said.

And while every job comes with challenges, Beecher says the reward of teaching makes it all worthwhile.

“I know that a lot of times every job is going to have some things that happen, but at the end of the day, when I go home and when I come here… every day I come here I am so excited, and I love every single second of it.”