Former Chef Has Things Cooking in the Classroom

Jaime Hawk teaches fourth grade English Language Arts at Vista del Sur Accelerated Academy. She taught second grade at the school for three years before moving into fourth grade. 

Hawk was working as a chef before COVID. She explains that when she was furloughed during the pandemic, she decided it was a good time to make a career change. So Hawk told her husband that she wanted to be a teacher and she went back to school for her teaching degree. Hawk calls the move “probably the best decision of my life.”

Hawk says she originally thought she would teach high school and older students, but she “fell in love” with elementary education. She says fourth grade is her jam! 

Some of the skills she used while working in a kitchen she now uses in the classroom, according to Hawk. As a chef, “I loved running the kitchen and delegating and multitasking,” she says. Being able to shift from task to task has translated well to teaching, she notes.

Hawk was born in Chandler. She lived in Ohio and Colorado before returning to the Valley. She and her husband have three children—a son in high school and two daughters in elementary school. She notes that she has always loved to read and write (it’s her happy place) and she runs a book club afterschool. 

“ I love diving into all the different books,” says Hawk. Some favorites are “Fish in a Tree” by Lynda Mullaly Hunt and “The Lost Library.” Hawk also loves dancing and painting.

Things get exciting when the class pet, a Guinea pig named Buffy, gets away from students, says Hawk. The kids get to hold and play with Buffy, but “she has escaped from them and run loose in the classroom,” says Hawk, who notes, Guinea pigs, they’re quite fast
and funny!”

Student Lincoln nominated his teacher. He notes that Hawk is “kind and helpful and teaches in a fun way.”

Hawk explains that her students learn as much or more from each other as they learn from her. “One of the biggest things at our school is teaching our kiddos through collaboration,” she says. 

She reminds students that it’s okay to make mistakes. “That’s how we learn and grow. It’s hard to do that if we’re not making mistakes,” advises Hawk.