Lyon has taught at Lawton since 2005 in 2nd, 3rd and multi-age classrooms where he focuses on creating confident, hard-working and compassionate learners. He is a National Board Certified Teacher. Lyon wants his students to learn how to be both kind and smart, and this belief is woven into his classroom culture and his personal role modeling. His classroom is filled with warmth and perfectly balanced between intellectual conversation, hands-on experiments and cultural and artistic exploration with just a bit of guitar thrown into the mix.
Lyon believes that community connections strengthen student learning, and he fully immerses himself in the community through scouts, sport programs and various non-profits. These connections enrich his classroom with guest presenters and neighborhood volunteer projects. Lyon is described as an “action oriented teacher leader.” When he noticed many kids at his school were driving instead of walking to school, he recruited older students to serve as crossing guards and bus greeters and organized Seattle’s first walking school bus program.
Lyon has served in numerous other leadership roles in his school and district most often in the areas of writing and literacy and is also a union representative. He has worked to integrate elements of Writer’s Workshop into Lawton and currently sits on a district committee focused on aligning reading and writing with the Common Core. During his time a Lawton, 4th grade writing proficiency rates on the MSP have risen over 10 percentage points.
Lyon believes teachers are agents of social change because they shape young learners into thoughtful citizens, and he knows just the right way to engage students in this learning. “Mr. Terry connects with children, holds them to a high standard of behavior and work ethic, and offers support for them to be successful,” says Principal Neil Gerrans. “His spot-on timing, knowing when to question and probe and when to slow down seems instinctive, but it is honed by his reflective practice.”
