Dustin Jeffries wants to be the the kind of teacher who inspired him when he was younger.
"I want to be a role model to the kiddos in this community because it is home," Jeffries, 23, said of teaching in Jefferson City.
Jeffries grew up in Holts Summit and is a Jefferson City High School graduate.
"I encourage my kids to dream, think of their lives outside this classroom," beyond their 10 or 11 years of life so far to how to get where they want to be, he said.
He described Glenna Honich, his fourth-grade teacher at Callaway Hills Elementary School, as the person who sparked his interest in teaching, adding that he knew he always wanted to teach for Jefferson City Public Schools.
He's in his second year of teaching fifth grade at Pioneer Trail Elementary School - his first job out of college after graduating from Lincoln University.
His classroom at Pioneer Trail is the same one he student-taught in while in college, he said.
Learning is something he likes to make come alive for his students - with funny voices during reading time to draw students in, dressing up or dancing.
Honich is someone he still consults with for ideas, he said.
"I knew I always wanted to be an elementary teacher because of that," he said of being aware that he's one of few male elementary teachers, adding that he wanted to be that "male positive role model" for students.
He didn't have a male teacher in elementary school he remembers, but he said he's conscious about being a role model and mentor for all students, whether boys or girls.
"The relationships you can make in the upper grades can really make a difference," he said of being a person students can talk to about anything.
Even as a new teacher, he's gotten positive attention from the school district and community.
Jeffries was named one of the 2018-19 Railton New Professionals by the Jefferson City Public Schools Foundation.
Jeffries' classroom is one of the district's model lab classrooms for literacy instruction - where teachers and staff from across the district can go to observe and engage with the kind of literacy teaching approaches the district wants to expand to all of its classrooms to get all students reading at or above their grade level.
"I felt like it was a very big honor," Jeffries said. His classroom, while not yet open for visits, is one of four model classrooms in the district - with two at Cedar Hill Elementary School and the other opening this year at Callaway Hills.
Jeffries said it's good to know that what he's doing to make a difference is being seen.
"I want them to know it's worth it," was his advice for new teachers, despite that it's easy to be overwhelmed as one, adding that students will appreciate their attention and engagement far more than a teacher will ever know.
"The students in this room will change the world," he said.