Get to know some of our incredible Epic educators and what motivates them in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week!
At Epic, we love all of you educators and how you go above and beyond to support your students, their families and your fellow teachers. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we’d like to spotlight some of our Master Teachers, who work so hard to spark innovation and creativity among colleagues and help shape our educator community. Get to know who they are and what inspires them below!
Amanda Alba: 2nd-Grade Teacher
“Aloha! My name is Amanda Alba, and I am a 2nd-Grade Teacher in Honolulu, Hawaii. I have been teaching for 9 years and have taught pre-kindergarten, computers and 2nd grade. I became a teacher because I love inspiring my students to be creative and dream big! I love helping them grow both academically and emotionally throughout the school year.
Epic: How do you like using Epic in the classroom?
Amanda Alba: Epic plays a big part in putting exciting and diverse books in my students’ hands. I love that my students have access to new books that they may not normally read or choose on their own. I love that Epic makes it easy to find books on my students’ levels as well as spark their interests to read new genres. Epic makes it easy for me as a teacher to build home-school connections by putting the Epic monthly activity calendar in my newsletter so parents can read with their child at home.
The National Geographic Kids books are available on Epic which helped my students find books about their animals for their end of the year animal research projects. It’s made research easier for my students and myself because Epic is a safe way for my students to use technology.
Epic: How do you recharge as an educator?
Amanda Alba: As an educator, it is important to also practice self care. I love to go to the beach, get a pedicure and read books on my own time. My school’s PTO has been phenomenal at supporting teachers all year by providing gifts and food! I also loved attending Epic’s Spring Into Happiness event to learn new mindfulness tools and connect with other teachers. Recharging is so important to prevent teacher burnout. Lean on your teacher friends and family, I couldn’t do it without mine! 
Brian Lopez: English Language Development/Intervention Teacher
“My name is Brian Lopez and I’m an English Language Development/Intervention Teacher in Southern California. I have been working in the field of education for 19 years. I started as a paraprofessional in the field of Special Education and I am currently working on my Administrative Credential & Masters Degree in Educational Leadership.
I became a teacher to be a positive male role model in the lives of the students I serve. My favorite parts about teaching are going on a new adventure everyday, helping students find new ways to persevere and spreading positivity throughout the school campus. I love to use Epic’s on-demand ‘Netflix style’ library of literary resources that help us dive deeper into the lessons that we learn in the classroom. The most popular feature from Epic is the Read-To-Me function because it allows every student to enjoy reading books.”
Epic: What inspires you as an educator?
Brian Lopez: My educational community inspires me as an educator. Teaching students inspires me to savor every moment we spend together in person. Walking into the school site each day inspires me to synergize with my colleagues. Connecting with educators via social media as @hellomrlopez inspires me to share my adventures in the classroom with educators from around the world.
Epic: What is something you’ve celebrated recently?
Brian Lopez: I recently celebrated accomplishing an enormous goal that I set for myself in 2016 while working on my Masters Degree in Digital Teaching & Learning. I presented the project “Welcome to #EdTech, It’s Been Waiting for You!” with a hybrid audience of educators at Spring Cue 2022 in Palm Springs, California. This amazing project highlights using educational technology tools like Epic and Flipgrid in the classroom to empower student learning. I am excited to see what celebrations the future holds!
Christina Hightower: 2nd-Grade Teacher
“My name is Christina Hightower. I teach 2nd grade in South Carolina and this is my 11th year teaching. I became a teacher because I was inspired by [my] teachers who truly saw me and my potential. I wanted to be that person for children. Every child deserves to have someone who believes in them. My favorite part about teaching is engaging students in reading. I love to see them light up when they find books that excite them. Epic has given us so many books to choose from!”
Epic: What has been your favorite part of this school year?
Christina Hightower: My favorite part about this school year has been being back in the building with students. It is slowly starting to feel like a normal school year again and that makes my heart happy.
Epic: What’s something that you’ve celebrated recently?
Christina Hightower: Recently I celebrated that I will begin a new job as a Reading Coach and Title 1 Facilitator in the 2022-2023 school year!
Hannah Irion-Frake: 3rd-Grade Teacher
“My name is Hannah Irion-Frake and I’m a 3rd grade Classroom Teacher in Pennsylvania. I’ve been teaching in the elementary classroom for 14 years. I have a passion for all things literacy and I love how Epic makes reading accessible and exciting for all readers.”
Epic: What makes you feel appreciated?
Hannah Irion-Frake: I feel appreciated when my passion and expertise as an educator is recognized by others. Teachers are some of the most passionate and knowledgeable people I know!
Epic: What’s your favorite part of being an educator?
Hannah Irion-Frake: My favorite part of being an educator is watching students grow over the course of the school year. I love seeing things come together for them as they learn new things and I love the general excitement about learning in an elementary classroom. Our students are the best!
John Gleason: Media Specialist/Librarian
“My name is John Gleason and I’m a Media Specialist/Librarian in New Jersey. This is my 20th year in elementary education. I have taught first, second and third grade as well as basic skills and gifted and talented. Three years ago I transitioned from the classroom to become our school’s Media Specialist and started an Epic reading goal incentive (complete with end-of-year nonsense like beard shaving, dunk tanks and sliming staff members) as well as Epic “Book Battles” that students can complete online at home or in school.”
Epic: What makes you feel appreciated?
John Gleason: I feel the appreciation (quite deeply) from the students. When I walk the hallway and students shout out to me with “I’m almost done with a gigantic chapter book,” “library is better than gym,”, or “we have Library tomorrow.” Those endearing shouts keep me going.
Epic: What’s your favorite part of being an educator?
John Gleason: When I drive to my school I sincerely feel that I am where I need to be. I feel respected, supported and a part of a community that is making an impact every day. It’s surely more than a “job.” That’s a gift for sure. And sure, some days are tough and stressful, but more often than not I feel a tremendous amount of pride for what I can accomplish with our students.
Mary Ledford: Teacher-Librarian
“My name is Mary Ledford, and I’m a Teacher-Librarian in Michigan. I’ve been in education for over 22 years as an elementary classroom Teacher and a Teacher-Librarian. I love thinking outside the box, creating curriculum and integrating technology into my lessons. When I’m not serving my students and staff members, you’ll find me on the yoga mat or enjoying a great cup of coffee!”
Epic: What are your favorite ways to use Epic in the classroom?
Mary Ledford: Each week I see close to 500 students for literature and technology. I have a wide range of readers and it would be impossible for me to gather books for lessons that would meet all of their needs. Epic to the rescue! It has so many books that it allows me to meet both literature and technology standards in one lesson for all of my readers!
Some of my favorite ways to use Epic are Book Tastings when we focus on a particular type of genre, scavenger hunts for nonfiction text features and giving students access to the same book for book clubs!
Epic: What has been your favorite part of this school year?
Mary Ledford: My favorite part of this school year has been having the opportunity to see all of my students consistently. The past few years have been challenging with the pandemic. We were virtual for a bit, then we moved to a hybrid mode where I saw students every 10 days on a rotational basis. I am so happy to be seeing them on a regular basis now!
Mina Alrufei: 3rd-Grade IB PYP Teacher
“Hello! My name is Mina Alrufei, I am a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) qualified English Language Teacher, YL (Young Learners) Teacher Trainer, EAL (English as an Additional Language) Coordinator and Grade 3 IB PYP (International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme) Teacher. I have 10+ years of teaching experience. I love using Epic in my classroom as the main source of reading, and as a research base for my kiddos to find the necessary information. I also use Epic for read-alouds, as well as reading competitions and book “treasure hunts.” I have seen some of my learners flourish and advance their language just by reading on Epic, using the built-in dictionary, and reading following the Read-To-Me feature.”
Epic: How do you recharge as an educator?
Mina Alrufei: I am a jewelry maker as well as a movie maker, so recharging for me means creating new jewelry and new videos and sharing them on my page @MeemMotifs.
Epic: What’s your favorite quote about reading?
Mina Alrufei: My favorite quote is by Dr. Seuss, which I even have on my business card: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself and the direction you choose.”
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
Educators work so hard to take care of others, but it’s important to remember to prioritize educator wellness as well. For additional resources, check out our blog post summarizing our Spring into Happiness event with tips on increasing happiness.
