Kelsey Sabori is a young English teacher sharing her gifts with Sophomores and Juniors English. She’s been a teacher for just four years, all here at DV. In addition to her classroom duties, she is also the Junior Class Student Council Sponsor. 

She enjoys doing yoga, reading, spending time with family and watching movies during her free time. Ms.Sabori claims that she “doesn’t have many hidden talents” however she does say, “I can make a really good pig noise, do we call that a talent?”

Hard to say. Something people might be surprised to know about her is she loves practical jokes.

“I find a lot of joy in scaring people–throwing cockroaches on their desks, hiding behind the wall and jumping out, you know… just standard things,” she said.

 Ms.Sabori’s great sense of humor shows in how she really cares about her students and why she made the journey to become a teacher. “After spending a year in a different major, I decided that my true passion was education, so I switched,” she said.  “I did a lot of volunteer work with high school-aged kids, so I knew that I wanted to teach them. I also love English and hoped to take a subject that students normally dislike and make it engaging.”

Sabori said her favorite part of teaching would have to be the relationships with students. “I love getting to know them! I want my students to feel like someone is in their corner,” she added.

One of her favorite lessons to teach is the Speech and Debate unit Q2 in Sophomore English. “It’s so fun to get kids practicing public speaking by doing mock debates, tongue twisters, and activities,” she said.  “I give them awards at the end and it’s a lot of fun.” 

Like most teachers this year, Sabori has faced many challenges during the pandemic of COVID-19. ‘Some expected, some unexpected, but I think regardless of the challenge it is important to have your people that you can process the hard with and know they are with you and support you,” she said.  “Virtually teaching is HARD. I hope that some of the new skills I learned will be beneficial in the classroom. Online options are fun sometimes, but not all the time.” 

With all the stressors of teaching this year, Sabori notes that finding a “happy medium” for students in person and online can be tough. But, she falls back on the best advice that anyone has ever given her to get through it all. 

“The best advice anyone has ever given me about teaching is you will not always do it right the first time. As someone that is a perfectionist, it’s hard for me when things do go the way I want them to. Hearing that I will make mistakes and it won’t always be right the first time is comforting and has taught me how to adapt and change. 

“My goal is to be the best teacher I can be, to make kids feel seen and cared for, and to never become complacent,” she said. 

It’s the fact that she loves engagement from students and any day in which she can do that is a good day. 

For now, Sabori can only wish about vacation days that might find her on an all-inclusive trip to someplace tropical! “Give me a beach and sunshine and I am happy,” she said. 

As a huge advocate for self-care, she is constantly giving advice to her classes on how to maintain a good balance.

 “Self-care is a huge part of my routine,” she explained. “I go to sleep around the same time every night to make sure I am fully rested, I love getting my nails done/doing my nails, and getting massages. I also think it is important to take time to not be busy. It is OK to say NO. Know who you are and don’t let others change that. It is so important to know what serves you and doesn’t serve you. 

“The more you try to seek validation from other people/things, the more empty you will feel. Be confident in your beliefs, be strong in your convictions, and most importantly, be kind.”

Choosing joy is so important to Sabori, she has it tattooed on her arm as a reminder. “Life is filled with choices and when given the choice, choose to be joyful. Choose to find that joy from within and let that guide you,” she added.

Remembering back to her own high school days, when she was a student at DV, she thinks about how much fun she and her friends had during spirit weeks and pep assemblies. “I LOVED spring fling week when I was in high school,” she recalled. “ It used to be this huge and uplifting time in the spring semester.” 

Ms. Sabori is an amazing teacher who really cares about her students and isn’t in the field to just make money but more so to make an impact on students. She identifies with the Harry Potter House of Ravenclaw,  known for its intelligence, knowledge, planning ahead, and wit. Sometimes, that wit comes across as a habit of being super sarcastic. “I think I am funnier than I am,” she admits. “ I’m seeking to improve my classroom basketball skills daily, and I always have 1,700 drinks on my desk at all times.”

One last thing that Sabori is willing to admit?

“I also love Nick Jonas. That is all.”