Amber Starr

Hello!  My name is Amber Starr.  I have been an educator for almost 20 years, spanning both elementary and middle school grades.  I attended and graduated from Tuscarora School District in 2001.  I obtained my bachelor is Elementary Education from Shippensburg University in 2005.  I began working at Fannett Metal School District in 2006 as a Reading Specialist and then went on teach both in first grade and sixth grade as well.  I graduated with my first master’s degree from Shippensburg University as a Reading Specialist in 2010.  Later, I transferred to the Chambersburg Area School District where I have been teaching fifth grade at South Hamilton Elementary for the past six years.  While teaching at CASD, I obtained my second master’s from Wilson College with a Master’s of Educational Technology and Instruction.

My goal is to show my students a love of reading and to give them skills that allow them to be successful readers and writers.  I strive to make my classroom engaging and interactive.  I work to setup my classroom as a community of learners, where everyone can feel safe and valued and where students can work together to help build on skills they already have.  The greatest moment of the year is when students ask to keep reading and not leave the classroom.

I’m also part of my school’s PBIS leadership team, in charge of all assemblies and content for teachers.  This year my students also started a fifth grade council to become more of a hands-on part of the learning process for other students.  I also helped plan and execute all of the PBIS rewards and worked closely with the administration and PTO to have both teachers and students more engaged with the PBIS process.  Our school recently moved from Tier I to Tier II.