St. Mary in Plainfield teacher creates ‘community of caring’

Jennifer Errthum, principal at St. Mary Immaculate Catholic School in Plainfield, said it’s rare to find someone as dedicated and compassionate as third grade teacher Lisa Phad.

Phad gives the credit to potholders – and her own third grade teacher at Taft Grade School in Lockport, who inspired Phad to become a teacher.

“We made potholders for Mother’s Day and I’ll never forget it,” Phad said. “She stitched our names and our handprints – we traced them and she stitched around it. I just loved her. I thought she was very sweet and very kind."

An Oct. 24, 2024, post on the St. Mary Immaculate Parish School Facebook page praised Phad’s hands-on teaching style for math and her ability to nurture the young minds of her students to “understand and embody their faith, creating a community of caring and knowledgeable individuals.”

Errthum said Phad’s “ability to connect with students and foster a love of learning is evident daily.”

“She consistently goes above and beyond, ensuring that every child not only learns, but thrives in her care,” Errthum said. “Mrs. Phad creates a classroom environment where every student feels valued and motivated to reach their full potential.”

Phad recalled “playing school” during her babysitting years, coloring with the kids in her care and then helping them with their homework.

“I just always knew I would be a teacher,” Phad said.

Phad teaches fractions by using hands-on tools (such as Play-Doh and graham crackers) and letting the students pretend they are operating a fast food restaurant, where the students also learn to make change, she said.

She also teaches geometry with geoboards and rubber bands. Students make fossils with modeling clay as well as amber fossils with glue and food coloring, she said.

“I just try to use many different hands-on things,” Phad said.

Each April, Phad’s students study the Titanic across many different subject areas, a unit that was already built into the curriculum, Phad said.

Students read “I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic” by Lauren Tarshis and then learn to spell words associated with the Titanic.

“They [recently] had a little debate about its artifacts – should they be brought up or should they stay down?" Phad said.

In art class, students create a three-dimensional room based on their social class on board the Titanic, which dictates the materials they could use, Phad said.

“The first-class children get to use scrap paper,” Phad said. “Third class might just have to draw the design on the wall.”

Students are also assigned the name of a person on the Titanic, Phad said.

“They research them, write about them and create a poster about that person,” Phad said. “And then they bring their poster to school and come dressed as their Titanic person. And family and the rest of the school come and view their presentations.”

Phad said “the faith aspect is very important” in her classroom and she loves working for a school where faith can be discussed in every subject.

She loves her students’ curiosity and the way parents support their children’s education.

Finally, Phad is also thankful for the opportunity “to work with people who inspire me to be a better teacher.”

“They are creative, professional and give so much of themselves to make the school a wonderful place to learn and grow,” Phad said.