COCOA, Fla. — Grateful parents are recognizing a Brevard County teacher, boasting that she just "gets it."
Parents say Amanda Norman not only challenges her students in the classroom, but she works with their parents at home to make sure students stay on track.
Taking one look at her classroom, and you can see something magical is happening in every little quaint corner of Norman's third-grade reading class at Challenger 7 Elementary School in Cocoa.
Norman almost didn't choose teaching as a career. In college, she started out studying criminal psychology.
"I was working over the summer with kids in an after-care program and watching them grow, and that's what changed my mind,” she said.
A parent nominated Norman as an A+ Teacher because of the way she's helped her daughter and so many others grow academically.
It's something Norman says she can't do alone.
"I really rely on these parents to tell me about their kid. They know what motivates their child, and that helps me," she said.
Principal Magali Rassel says it's a skill that Norman has mastered.
"She understands that not every student learns the same way, so she makes sure she has diverse ways for them to learn," Rassel said.
"It's amazing! These kids … watching them grow, watching them master things that they probably shouldn't be able to master yet. There's not really words for it. It's just amazing," Norman said.