2nd Grade   |  Fruitland Park Elementary School

For Amanda Hanke, teaching is more than a profession. It’s something she has been doing in one way or another most of her life.

“I’ve always loved teaching. I’ve always loved little kids,” she says.

Inspired by her mom, who homeschooled Amanda and her siblings, she also spent years homeschooling her two oldest children from elementary school through high school while also teaching in church nursery programs and community learning environments. Eventually, she decided to return to college and earn her education degree.

“I just made it official in my 40s when I went back to school to get my actual degree,” she says.

Her first role in Lake County Schools was as a family-school liaison at Oak Park Middle School, where she helped run The Rock program, which supports students in need with food packs, clothing, hygiene supplies and a welcoming space where families could connect with school resources.

“That’s always been a big heart of mine is just being able to meet kids where they are, what they need,” she says.

Today, Amanda is in her first year as a second-grade teacher at Fruitland Park Elementary School, where she focuses on making learning memorable and exciting. Inspired by the hands-on learning experiences her mother created while homeschooling her as a child, Amanda designs creative classroom experiences that bring lessons to life.

“I just feel like if you can capture students’ imagination, you have more opportunities to reach them,” she says.

One of her first classroom transformations was called “Camp Read-A-Lot,” where desks were pushed aside and replaced with tents, camping chairs and a pretend fire pit so students could gather together, read and explore stories about the outdoors.

Her classroom today features a space theme inspired by her love of science and NASA.

“I try to make them understand that all subjects, including science, can be exciting,” she says. “Science doesn’t have to be boring or focus on just chemistry and things like that. Science can be so much more and that’s where I try to bring in those experiments and things that are eye-opening to the kids so that they can see, ‘Oh, this is cool. I want to learn more and do more because of that.’”

After writing to the Kennedy Space Center and a space history museum, Amanda received more than she ever imagined.

“It was amazing,” she says. “I have mission patches. I have commemorative pieces. They sent me books for my classroom. And so that was really my big jump start to be able to create an environment where the kids could learn in a more hands-on setting and not just a square boxed-in room.”

“I wanted it to be open and alive and help their imaginations.”

Beyond themed decorations, she frequently incorporates hands-on activities into lessons, from setting up classroom stores to teach money skills to hosting Olympic-style curling competitions to help students understand measurement.

For Amanda, the mission is about inspiring a lifelong love of learning and showing students that education can be an adventure. Her goal is simple: make school a place where children feel excited to learn.

“I want to instill a love for learning into the next generation,” she says. “Learning shouldn’t be boring. Students shouldn’t hate school. I want my students to love coming to school, to be excited about what we will learn next, to be engaged and have hands on experiences of their own so that one day they will look back and remember their own time in elementary as exciting and memorable.”