Great teachers don't give away the answers.
They let their students figure it out.
Cassi LaFaye asks her students a lot of questions.
Giving away the answers just isn't in her nature.
She lets her students design, build, and test their own projects.
The latest is how to make a hot air balloon fly.
"Some students are so worried about the balloon failing, they want me to tell them how to do it. I specifically don't build one in advance because then everybody will build it exactly how I did."
Cassi's students at Marana High School know they can go to her anytime.
Gabriela Spencer said, "If I need help, she'll go out of her way to help me. She'll stay here at lunch. She'll probably stay after school if I asked.
Cassi is a great role model for her students. She has five kids of her own and spends time volunteering for their activities, but she is dedicated to her kids at school.
She head up the pom color guard team and the coach for science olympiad.
She also finds time to tutor in math.
Her classes are project- based.
Students demonstrate what they've learned through building something.
It all starts with real life scenarios, whether it's developing alternative fuels or what caused a fish kill in a local river.
LaFaye says, "I try to focus on 21st century skills. Collaboration. Working together. The students seem to learn how to communicate well."
A.J. Bedoya tells us why he looks forward to coming to class every day.
"The hands on. Because I can't learn from a book. It's the hands-on and she really incorporates that in whatever she's teaching."
Teaching is not Cassi's first career. She was a nutritionist before this, but she can't imagine doing anything else.
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