Chrisie Saunders

Severn School (Chesapeake Campus), Arnold

Years teaching at Severn: 18



Currently teaching: Pre-Kindergarten



Proudest teaching moment: “It is truly amazing to watch a child become an independent reader. Every year, my proudest moments are seeing the joy, pride, and excitement in the eyes of my students as they learn to read.”



Teaching philosophy: “I believe that early childhood education is learning by doing. Learning at this age should be fun, active, and engaging. It’s the process of an experience not necessarily the end result.”



Toughest challenge facing educators: “Teaching a generation of children that are so ‘plugged’ in. Kids live in a world of instant gratification and over-stimulated, planned environments. Teaching social skills, providing opportunities to improve their ability to attend to tasks that take some thinking (developing perseverance), and just being outside enjoying and interacting with the world around them are all areas that I think are important for today’s students.”

Throughout Ms. Saunders’ years of service at the Lower School, she has remained steadfast in her belief that our youngest students can be engaged through purposeful play as they learn about everything from social skills to 
pre-literacy and numeracy skills to the design process. She is a model of ‘knowing and valuing’ our youngest students and celebrating the individual and collective gifts they bring to our school community. Her passion and pride for all aspects of our school, curriculum, students, faculty, and community is clearly felt in everything she does.” —Douglas Lagarde, Headmaster

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