SPRING HILL, Fla. — A fifth-grade class at Westside Elementary School got a surprise the other day.

“Do you know why I am here?” I asked Lauren Scire.  “Because you’ve been nominated as one of our A+ Teachers.”

At that point the class erupted in applause and cheers. It was great!

“I didn’t know who you were at first, so I told the class to just act normal,” Scire said. “Then it was just shocking when I added it up and figured out who you were.”

Adding and dividing is something this math teacher does very well.  Her class was under performing in their math scores, so Lauren decided to start a Saturday math class on her own.

“Our administrator brings donuts and I order pizza.  It’s a great way to learn,” she said. “After the first year our students were first in the district, which is just amazing.  I was in tears when those scores came in.”

Remember that she did this all on her own time and her own initiative. Teaching math isn’t easy which is why Ms. Scire is constantly mixing things up to keep the kids’ attention.

“We are going to do it a million different ways where hopefully something will click and then they will end up loving it,” she tells me.

Oddly, Ms. Scire struggled with math as a child. It was teachers who inspired her to eventually join their ranks.

“I remember writing letters to my fourth and fifth grade teachers saying I want to be you when I grow up,” Scire said.

So it's no stretch that her fifth-graders might get that same inspiration from their favorite teacher.

Here are some of the comments from students:

“She helps me learn. If I am struggling she helps me a lot.” 

“She helps me understand a lot of things that I really had trouble with.”

“Whenever I was stuck on a question I would raise my hand and she would come over and help me.”

Exactly what great teachers like Lauren Scire are supposed to do. Big time congrats for being an A+ Teacher.