Meet the winner of the The Charlotte Observer’s Education Superhero poll

If the 20 or so kids in her class at Providence Spring Elementary are lucky, Margaret Brown will break into song.

Sometimes she’ll sing something from Taylor Swift — one of Brown’s favorites — or a jingle from the movie “Frozen.”

On this day, the ninth-year teacher is dressed in a blue and white gingham dress that channels Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz,” and she’s instructing her students on literary devices. She’s got a song ready to go, too, about antonyms, synonyms, metaphors and alliteration.

“She sings 10 times a day when we’re learning,” student Avery Levine said. “She’s so good at singing and it makes you want to learn. I’ve said this 10,000 times — I wish she could follow me to fourth grade. What I just said? That’s a hyperbole.”

Readers of The Charlotte Observer voted Brown, 32, the Charlotte area’s Education Superhero. The poll was conducted throughout April and into May to give the community a way to honor their favorite educator. Brown received 23,929 votes in the final round of voting, which was 48% of all votes cast.

“She motivates, she’s kind and she’s fun,” student Adeline Yepko said.

Show up for the kids

Brown’s classroom at Providence Spring is a happy space with areas carved out for reading nooks. One corner has a rocking chair. Another has an armchair. “Be The Change” is a motto written on the wall in the front of the room.

Brown’s motto? No matter what’s going on in her own life, she shows up for her kids.

“I’m choosing to be here,” said Brown, who lives in Charlotte and grew up in Indiana. “If I choose to be my best, that will be reflected in my students. “I teach because I feel called to do it. Every single teacher I know goes above and beyond for their students.”

Many educators see third grade as a tough grade to teach, she says, because it includes a lot of testing. Those tests on math and reading, among other subjects, are often used to measure the growth and performance of an entire school. But Brown sees it as an opportunity to connect with students at an important age. She used to teach kindergarten, but says she was born to teach third grade.

“I love it; it’s why I’m in this field,” said Brown, who started her career nine years ago in Union County Public Schools. “Last year, my class was in the top 25% for reading growth in the state. It’s a grade where you can make an incredible impact.”

That impact extends beyond the school building. Brown says she knows her students, and they know her. Brown just married in November. She and her husband Ulises Tovar have two rescue dogs.

“While my job exists within the classroom, my work translates to who these children are and become outside of it,” she said. “I hope they go out into the world and remember that their teacher loves them, supports them and wants them to change the world for the better. That Ms. Brown is their biggest cheerleader.”

Their coach

Imani Beverly and Claire Sperling, both fifth-grade students at Providence Spring, decided to join the Girls on the Run program Brown started at the school with a coworker in 2018.

The aim of the group is not only for kids to get exercise; it’s also to gain confidence — something Brown encouraged.

“It was a good experience for your health,” Imani said. “But more importantly, we learned about ourselves and what we can do. It’s something I’m going to continue.”

Claire says the best part of the after-school program was the support the coaches showed.

“We all go at our own pace, right?” Claire said. “So when Ms. Brown is out there, she’s telling all of us to go and just encouraging all of us to do our best.”

During Brown’s second year of coaching, a blind student signed up. Brown, other coaches and the students helped guide the student during a race. Brown says they were motivated to ensure that her experience with the program was just like the other girls. Coaches researched how to guide her safely, using a tether and clear communication.

“A lot of what we learn through Girls on the Run is team building,” fourth-grade student Olivia Woelfel said. “You meet new friends and learn to trust each other and depend on each other. Ms. Brown taught us that.”

Their superhero

The songs to match learning lessons and creating programs at school all add up to one thing, according to 9-year-old Olivia Moore, a student in Brown’s class.

Brown makes it fun, Olivia says.

There was a time when the 9-year-old didn’t like reading or writing. She could care less about literary devices — until she got to third grade.

“Now I love reading because she cares enough about us to know we need it,” Olivia said.

One factor helping students like Olivia: Brown knows personally what it’s like to dislike reading. She struggled with reading while growing up in Indiana and dreaded when the subject came up in class. It wasn’t until she attended the University of Alabama, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education, that she learned to love the subject.

Her professor read aloud “Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse” in her children’s literature course in a way that helped shape the way she teaches the subject now.

“She motivates you and stands out when she reads,” Olivia said. “She reads with so much expression.”

Every year, Brown reads “The Hundred Dresses” to her classes. The book, written by Eleanor Estes, is about bullies, bystanders and having the courage to speak up. It teaches a lesson, Brown says, and sends a message to her kids of the importance of reading.

“If you have that passion for reading you can do anything,” Brown said. “You can be problem solvers. You can learn how to be kind. You can learn anything from a book. I need these kids to be world-changers and leaders. That’s my goal.”

To her students, she’s a true superhero.

“She’s all of the Avengers, all of the superheroes combined,” Avery said. “She’s very fierce — like a lion. She’s all the metaphors.”

Thank you

Brown is one of the dozens of people readers nominated when the Observer asked for names of those working in Charlotte-area K-12 schools who make a big impact in the lives of students — perhaps without much public recognition.

Readers gave us candidates and narrowed them down to four finalists during the past few weeks of voting in the Education Superhero poll. The last round of voting ended last Friday.

The finalists, along with Brown, include Ashley Howard, a high school math teacher at Lincoln Charter School in Denver; Brenna O’Connor Goodwin, a K-2 academic facilitator at Blythe Elementary School in Huntersville; and Sydney LeNeave, a first-grade teacher at Smithfield Elementary in Charlotte.