Tyson Lassiter is a new 7th grade teacher at Albuquerque Academy. She had been working in the College Guidance Office at the school for the past two years, but just this year she transferred to teaching 6/7 students in English. Ms. Lassiter went to college at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where she studied Broadcast Journalism and English. She got her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a minor in English and her Preliminary Credential from Chapman University. From Loyola Marymount University she received her Clear Credential. Before 9/11, Ms. Lassiter worked as a corporate trainer. After 9/11, her position wasn’t needed anymore, and she needed to find a new job. She found a job at the elementary school she had attended and taught younger children for a while.

Before coming to the Academy, Ms. Lassiter worked as an English teacher in California for seven years at a few high schools and an elementary school. Her all time favorite age group to teach is middle schoolers. “They still show excitement when something new is learned or when a new concept is understood. I also love their energy!” says Ms. Lassiter about her middle school students. Ms. Lassiter focuses on working with each individual student and recognizing that every student is different. She loves helping her class develop writing skills and helping their writing come alive. Her favorite part of teaching is watching her students move on and excel. “I love to see them succeed,” says Ms. Lassiter. She gets her students to engage in class by reading short stories and making activities for her class to do. Her classes are entertaining, and learning happens in a fun, engaging environment.

When Ms. Lassiter started teaching at the Academy this fall, school started on Zoom. She thinks online school is stressful, saying “I’d much rather be in person, but it’s what we’re doing, so we have to make it the best we can.” Ms. Lassiter admits she is at a slight disadvantage being a new teacher this year, but she has always been interested in technology, and online learning is allowing her to use new tools to teach and learn from her students. She says it is very strange that she can’t use her classroom, which makes it harder for her to tell which students are friends and to meet up with her students if needed. Even with these challenges, Ms. Lassiter believes we will still enjoy this experience together. “I’m grateful we have Zoom,” she says, because she loves teaching and is happy to be in school. She claims we are becoming more of a team and more of a family through this experience.

Ms. Lassiter is originally from California, specifically Lake Tahoe and San Pedro. She grew up in a family of teachers with one sister. She moved to New Mexico five years ago along with her husband, two daughters and two sons (one who now is a 6th grader at Academy). Ms. Lassiter likes to be very active in her free time. She was a marathon runner before she had children, and she loves biking, hiking and skiing. “As long as we’re outside,” says Ms. Lassiter. Besides being active, she enjoys teaching her students and helping them succeed, and she is proud to be a teacher here at Academy.