LEE, Mass. — St. Mary's School second-grade teacher, Megan Pinsonneault, has been selected as the March Teacher of the Month. 

 

The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here. 

 

Pinsonneault has been teaching in one way or another her entire life, from playing school with her sisters to being a teacher's assistant in high school for a kids' dance class. 

 

She started her career as a fourth-grade teacher at St. Agnes' Academy in Dalton and six years later transitioned into being a reading interventionist at one of the public schools in Weymouth. Later in her career, she obtained a job as a fourth-grade teacher at St. Mary's. 

 

She took a break from her career for two years to raise her twin girls but returned to St. Mary's to take on her current position as a second-grade teacher, where she has been for the last five years.

 

"Now that I'm in second grade. I absolutely love it, and I hope to stay in second grade for the remainder of my teaching career, if possible," Pinsonneault said. 

 

"My hope for the future is that we can all learn and grow together and be accepting of people's ideas and opinions to be respectful, responsible, helpful citizens, and kind of just have an overall goal to make the world a better place, and look beyond just ourselves."

 

Pinsonneault aims to create a safe learning environment where students can feel comfortable being themselves. 

 

"I always encourage them to ask questions, to share their thoughts and opinions, and let them know that their voices are important," she said.

 

Pinsonneault said she appreciates what her students have to say and wants them to know she is listening to them. 

 

"I think growing up is difficult. Kids face a lot of challenging situations. There's a lot going on in the world, and I want school to kind of be like the safe place where they feel comfortable being them. They feel comfortable expressing themselves," she said, 

 

"And I just want them to know that no matter what's going on, they always can find that their dreams are never out of reach. I know that sometimes, when we get in the thick of the day-to-day, it can seem like certain things are impossible. So, I really want to work to instill in them that nothing is impossible."

 

She has high expectations for students but emphasizes her commitment to supporting and uplifting them through challenges. 

 

"I want my students to believe that they can truly be anything, do anything, achieve anything, if they work hard enough, if they dream big enough, basically anything they set their mind to, they can do," Pinsonneault said.

 

"I don't ever want them to feel like they have limitations on what they can achieve. So I just really work to kind of inspire them to believe in themselves, to believe in their dreams, and to keep on going, [and] don't give up. Sometimes you get knocked down, but get back up and keep trying." 

 

Pinsonneault has always wanted to be a teacher and would always make her sisters play school, she said. 

 

"I think it was just something that I was always very passionate about. I always loved my teachers, specifically my fifth-grade teacher, [Mrs. Lynne Robinson.] There was just something about her that made learning so much fun, and she inspired me to want to do the same for future students," she said. 

 

Pinsonneault grew up in Berkshire County, attending C.T. Plunkett Elementary School in Adams, now Hoosac Valley Elementary School, where she had Mrs. Robinson.

 

"She really inspired me the most. I loved her class. I loved how passionate she was about teaching, how she really worked hard to make everything fun and exciting. We learned through a lot of activities, projects, just really engaging. So that's really the kind of teacher that I wanted to be."

 

Pinsonneault highlighted how grateful she is to have the support of her colleagues, principal, and the school community. 

 

"I really love working at St Mary's School, and I think when you are working in a place where you feel supported and valued, I think it makes all the difference," she said. 

 

"it's really just, I love what I do, and I love where I work, and so I just feel really fortunate to be where I am."

 

Pinsonneault loves where she is, but the school staff and students also love her and the impact she has made. 

 

"She is an incredible teacher, and I think that she has affected so many families at St Mary's…she just has the most calm demeanor with her students. She understands their needs in a way that I have not really seen before," said Principal Cara Maiorana-Culver. 

 

"She knows how to talk to students…[and] knows exactly what each student needs to thrive, and I see her go above and beyond to make sure they have that."

 

Maiorana-Culver highlighted the different jobs Pinsonneault has had at St. Mary's over the years, from a fourth-grade teacher to a substitute physical education teacher. 

 

"Now she's back in second grade, and I think that when you're getting ready for third grade, you're switching from learning to read to reading to learn, and I think having her as that bridge is so powerful because she has such skill when it comes to that, Maiorana-Culver said. 

 

"So, she's just had such an impact on all of our students, and she's very loved in the St. Mary's community."

 

One of her second-graders mentioned how Pinsonneault was recently one of the four recipients of the Pioneer Valley's Excellence in Teaching Award. 

 

"She has done very nice things. She helps me, and she corrects me. And she's super nice. I now get it that she won that prize for best teacher," said Richard Wendt, second grader. 

 

Second graders Gianna Lora, Annabelle Piccolo, and Ruby Shanahan all said Pinsonneault makes them happy and that she is nice, kind, and cool.