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The February 2025 Window World Teacher of the Month is Leah German, a first grade teacher at Palmetto Bays Elementary School.

German was nominated for Teacher of the Month because she cares deeply for every student she teaches past and present, and for having a disciplined classroom environment while offering her students a positive learning experience.

German earned her bachelor鈥檚 of science degree in education from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She also has a concentration in psychology.

Originally from North Carolina, German relocated to Horry County after the COVID-19 pandemic.

She began her teaching career at Asheboro City Schools in Asheboro, North Carolina. She taught kindergarten for six years and first grade for one year.

German was a part of an inaugural dual language program at her school in Asheboro in her kindergarten class. She had two kindergarten classes that would alternate between her classroom and a Spanish speaking classroom. One day she would have one group of students in her classroom teaching them lessons in English and the next day that group of students would go to the Spanish speaking classroom next door and learn the next lesson all in Spanish. The students were continuously learning the next lesson staying on track with the curriculum.

鈥淭hey were speaking. They were reading. They were writing. All in Spanish," German said. 鈥淚t was just an amazing program.鈥�

German taught in Asheboro City Schools for seven years before relocating to the Grand Strand.

The 2024-25 school year marks German鈥檚 twelfth year teaching and her fifth year in Horry County Schools and at Palmetto Bays Elementary School.

German wanted to work in education because of her love for kids.

鈥淭o me, it鈥檚 more than just the academics,鈥� she said.

She said she loves watching her students learn and seeing the connections they make. German wants to be more than just a teacher for her students, she wants to be a role model for them. In her classroom she teaches life skills, respect and how to be kind and compassionate.

鈥淚 just try to teach them how to be good human beings when they leave my classroom,鈥� German said.

German doesn鈥檛 have classroom rules her students have to follow 鈥� instead she has values.

Each morning the class goes over their classroom values and whenever a problem arises in class they refer back to their values to fix or solve the problem.

German wants to ensure that her students feel safe, valued and loved and that she is a safe place for them, she said.

She was inspired to become a teacher because of her grandmother, who also worked in education. German鈥檚 grandmother also graduated from University of North Carolina Greensboro and was a music teacher.

When German was younger she would pretend to be a teacher for her stuffed animals.

Her favorite lesson she teaches is phonics and reading in general.

PBES started using the science of reading curriculum to help students learn how to read. The science of reading is research from all different fields of education brought together to explain how people can read and how to successfully break down how to work with students at their level and teach them how to read.

One of German鈥檚 favorite parts of PBES is the dedication the administration, teachers and faculty have to teach their students.

鈥淥ur school really takes learning so seriously and not just teaching the students but also teaching the teachers,鈥� German said.

She also values the relationships she builds while teaching. German has former students come visit her classroom daily.

鈥淭hose relationships are really what matter at the end of the day,鈥� she said.

Outside of school, German enjoys attending sporting events with her friends and family. Her family has season tickets to the N.C. State football games and enjoys cheering on the Wolfpack.

鈥淎s long as we鈥檙e together that鈥檚 what makes me happy,鈥� she said.

German also said that being nominated for this award while not being an Horry County native is very special.

鈥淚 feel very honored for that,鈥� German said.

If there is a teacher in Horry County who you would like to nominate for the Window World Teacher of the Month, visit to make your nominations.

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