TITUSVILLE, Fla. — A+ Teacher Pat Bean has dedicated her life to serving students. Most recently, she’s spent two decades at Sculptor Charter School in Titusville and says, “It’s a great job. I’ve had three careers, and clearly I saved the best for last.”

Pat Bean has served the community in multiple ways over the years. The principal at Sculptor Charter School, Christine Quam, says she’s known Bean for years.

“Her first career was actually working in a residential home for troubled youth and that’s when I knew her,” Quam says. “Her next career was to work in the criminal justice system before becoming a teacher, and then she became a teacher for two years before coming here to Sculptor, where she has now been teaching high school Spanish classes for the last twenty years.

“She’s just an amazing woman. During the (CIVID) pandemic, especially, she was one of the teachers that was very uneasy about teaching online and virtually. The nature of her classes is a little more difficult when you’re teaching a foreign language. But she was literally amazing. From her home, she worked 12 and 14 hours days to personally call each of her students to work on their Spanish with them.”

Bean was nominated by a student’s parent for not only her teaching skills but for putting her heart and soul into her students and going above expectations while teaching seventh- and eighth-graders. Her students are earning high school credit for their work.

“Honestly, she pushes the kids hard, but we know when they go on to high school, they are very well-prepared,” Quam says.

“Teaching is a lot of fun,” Bean says. “It’s intense. It’s overwhelming sometimes. You’re pulling your hair out some days, but by and large, it’s so wonderful.”

Bean says that the culture in her school is to show empathy and caring for each student while also holding them accountable.

“I need to know and understand what they’re going through and then adjust and offer the kids other opportunities where they can succeed,” she says. “One thing I remember as a young person. I was a good student, but I always did terrible on tests. Absolutely was bombing every single quiz and test. I didn’t do well. I over-thought every question.”

At Sculptor Charter they offer a second chance, which is an opportunity to earn a better grade up to 80%. She says it gives students a good chance to learn what they did wrong.

When it comes to learning, Bean says, “You learn a lot from the kids as well. You’re the teacher, but they’re teaching you something regularly as well and for me it’s been patience. To be patient.”