After spending 20 years shaping minds, fostering a love for learning and having four family members at Trinity, sixth grade history teacher Andrea Sockwell is retiring from teaching and moving on to a peaceful lakefront home in South Carolina. With her husband stepping into a command position in the National Guard, Sockwell will be by his side to support him in this new chapter.
“I had three little babies when I started here,” Sockwell said. “They went through middle school and high school here and then graduated. My mom taught here before (me) and she was the head of the English department in upper school and the curriculum director. So it’s been a family affair for 30 years of our life.”
In the course of her tenure here, although Sockwell taught some upper school sections of World Religions and an art history course, her favorite class to teach has always been sixth grade history because it allows her to work with new students and help them integrate into the school community.
“I’ve always been able to get to know all the sixth graders,” Sockwell said. “I am really proud of trying to help them enter our school and get to know people and get acclimated.”
Sockwell first taught fourth and fifth grade in Orange and Seminole County public schools for six years before joining Trinity in 2005 as a sixth grade history teacher, a role she enjoyed because of the independence it gave her in the classroom.
“The greatest thing about teachingat Trinity is the autonomy we have in our classrooms,” Sockwell said. “We are allowed to run with our own lesson plans and come up with really enriching activities for students to help them learn. We do not have some of the red tape that I had in Orange and Seminole County when I taught at those two.”
Since then, Sockwell has never left, serving now as the sixth grade team leader and equipping each generation of sixth graders with necessary research and writing skills.
“Sometimes I’m known as the homework queen,” Sockwell said. “I know reading and writing are not kids’ favorite things to do, but I really feel like it is my calling to teach kids how to research and write thoughtful responses to questions. I get kids every year who come back and say, ‘Oh my gosh, you did have a hard class, but I learned so much and I grew so much as a student because of you pushing me to do that,’ and so I really am proud of that.”
In addition to teaching, Sockwell has coached multiple cheer teams, where she has bonded closely with the team members.
“Being a cheer coach for 20 years, both in the middle school and varsity levels, has been really rewarding,” Sockwell said. “I love the girls and what they have accomplished over the last 20 years in the program. They really support our school, and they’re just amazing young ladies.”
Throughout her two decades at Trinity, Sockwell has experienced many special moments too, including watching her former students graduate from Trinity.
“Being able to hand in their diplomas on their graduation day and just look out at all the teachers who made their growth possible was pretty amazing, ” Sockwell said.
With the knowledge of many valuable lessons gained in her teaching career, Sockwell has developed a wide range of skills she hopes to carry into her future.
“You learn how to bring out the best in your students, how to come up with new ideas of presenting information and trying to engage people,” Sockwell said. “I feel like those skills can translate to several different areas, and I’ve enjoyed teaching, but I feel like there are many different things out there still left to try.”
