Lauren Cooley reads to kindergarteners. Jamila King gives students hand sanitizer. Kourtland Moore feeds the class guinea pig, Reeces.

Other students in Ashley Cessna’s second grade class open doors and check the teacher’s box, all due to Dana Road Elementary School taking part in Leader in Me.

“Leader in Me has helped us become very organized,” she said. “Each student has a job that they do.”

Cessna said disciplinary referrals have gone down and students lead lessons and help each other throughout the day.

“They’re in charge of themselves,” she said. “Their leadership notebooks are something we use for Leader in Me. They keep their progress reports, their AR goals and their behavior charts.”

Cessna said her students know everything about her, and various students said she had three children. In unison they announced her baby dog’s name is “Toby.”

“We’re very connected,” she said. “I’m really, really focused on my students and their needs.”

Cessna said one of her favorite quotes is Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

“I’m trying to instill in them to be the best they can be and to teach them, so hopefully they can get something from it in years to come,” she said.

Cessna said she has been teaching for 17 years, first at Beechwood, then at Dana Road since the school opened.

A 1992 graduate from Vicksburg High School, Cessna said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher.

“Growing up my mom had a daycare at our house, so I was always around children,” she said. “I just love children.”

Cessna said she enjoys doing thematic teaching.

“I like not just standing up and teaching them but doing hands-on activities,” she said. “We did weather related events, and last week we talked about butterflies their life cycle. Using the Smartboard we watched videos to show the lifecycle of butterflies.”

Handling money is another skill Cessna said she teaches her students.

“We have a class store in which students may buy items to reinforce good class behavior,” she said. “They count out and use real money.”

Outside school, Cessna said she enjoys cruising and vacationing with her family.

“We went to Disney World for spring break,” she said.

Cessna said she has two shar peis and a white miniature schnauzer, Toby.

“Something important to know is I have a special needs daughter (Mallory Cessna, 13),” she said. “I’ve become a better teacher and better at understanding my students needs.”

Cessna has another daughter, Logan Cessna, 18; a son, Landon Cessna, 11; and a husband, Joe Cessna.

“I have very supportive parents,” she said. “Both of my parents are very supportive.”