NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Watching Capri Salaam in her classroom, you would think that teaching was what she always wanted to do— but that wasn't always the case.
"Growing up I originally wanted to be an attorney," Salaam said.
But during one of the last conversations she ever had with her late grandmother, Salaam said she was thinking of attending the University of Central Arkansas— and her grandmother's response changed everything.
"She goes, 'oh that's the teacher's college,'" said Salaam. "'You're gonna be such a great teacher,' and I didn't have the heart to tell her I'm not gonna be a teacher but I said, 'thanks grandma I think so too.'"
Salaam said that Grandma Lillie's words stuck with her, and after spending some summers working with kids in her hometown of Helena, her mind changed.
Now, there's no place she'd rather be than working in her North Little Rock classroom— faced with the challenge of teaching history and geography to middle schoolers.
"Middle school to me is the last few moments as children," Salaam said. "And I love that every day is an adventure."
She works to bring creativity into her classroom every day.
"We're wrapping up our unit for 7th grade on North America so they are designing travel brochures," Salaam explained. "They're going to pick a place in North America and convince me to travel to this wonderful location."
Salaam also said that teaching history has become one of her passions.
"Instilled in me from my parents because Helena is so historical that my parents took me to the culture center, took me to the museum," she added.
When you combine creativity inspired by a strong family foundation, you get an amazing educator like Salaam— which is why she was named Arkansas' Teacher of the Year for 2023/24.
Her family back in Helena saw the announcement on Facebook Live and asked Salaam what her grandmother would have thought about her achievements.
"I know she would've just been so proud of me. I think she would just be so proud of the fact that I became a teacher and that I'm influencing the lives of my students on a daily basis," Salaam described. "I think she just would've hugged me and loved me. Warm fuzzies."
As Teacher of the Year, Salaam will travel the state and mentor other educators. She will be focusing on mental health in students and the importance of early intervention for kids in special education.