May 18, 2026
By Jenna Fournel, Chief Curiosity Officer
Listen to this week’s episode of the Hooray For Monday podcast for Jenna’s conversation with Sabrina Burroughs and Ben Wilhelm. Ben was Sabrina’s student-teacher 4 years ago and is now her colleague at John Lewis Elementary School. They share how their relationship has benefited them both, how they nurture curiosity in their kindergarten students, and what community looks like in their school.
Mrs. Burroughs and her former student teacher, now colleague, Ben Wilhelm.
Sabrina Burroughs is a kindergarten teacher at John Lewis Elementary in Washington, DC and an Inspired Teaching Fellow. She joined our Teaching with Improvisation Fellowship during the 2024-2025 school year, and in the time since, has been an integral member of the Inspired Teaching community. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting her classroom many times as part of the Fellowship and, as you can find in several past issues of Hooray For Monday, Mrs. Burroughs is truly an Inspired Teacher.
During one of my recent visits to her classroom, I had the privilege of attending a school-wide assembly in celebration of Black History Month. It was a joy to observe not only the children’s enthusiasm for the show they put on for their classmates, but I also watched as teacher after teacher engaged authentically with their colleagues. The care they demonstrated for one another was immediately evident.
So, it was a special treat to have the opportunity to connect with Mrs. Burroughs again—and her former student-teacher and now teaching colleague, Ben Wilhelm. Learning more about the value they found in their mentor/mentee relationship four years ago, and as across-the-hall neighbors today, offered me a glimpse into what is possible—for morale, student outcomes, and school connectedness—when colleagues work alongside one another with intention.
You can listen to our full conversation on the Hooray For Monday podcast, and I’ll share a few highlights below!
Mrs. Burroughs on the Benefits of Mentoring:
“I’ve learned so much from working as a mentor teacher for the last 12 years, not only here but at my previous school. And then working with [teaching] students who are coming from all different programs…and being able to find ways for them to make it their own. Ben did a really good job of making it his own, in that I gave him the intervention group or the approaching friends, and I also gave him the exceeding group of those friends that he needed to challenge. I’m not sure which one he had more fun with!”
Mr. Wilhelm on Curiosity:
“Kindergarten is a great space to be able to see [curiosity] every single day. We certainly get millions of questions about every subject, but we can really see it when we have student-to-student discourse, and we get to listen in on what questions they have with each other when they’re talking about the academic subjects. It’s been amazing to see the growth throughout each year as the students ask more questions and help solidify their understanding of those concepts even deeper by talking with each other.”
Mrs. Burroughs on Building Community:
“I don’t think anything works unless there’s trust, and I don’t think trust is expected because my kids are 5 and 6. I think that it’s earned. I think that kids know when you’re real and wholesome and authentic, and you love them unconditionally… I think teachers take moments to heart where they should take moments as moments.”
On What They Learned From One Another:
Mr Wilhelm: “I think most of my teaching practice over the last 3 years of being a lead teacher comes from Mrs. Burroughs…there’s so many little intricate parts from her modeling and her care…I think the most important thing I learned from her is [to] make sure that those kids have a teacher that’s planned, that’s ready, and shows them the unconditional love that they need.”
Mrs. Burroughs: “I actually learned patience from Ben. He has an uncanny patience for chaos, and I literally learned that from him because I’m watching him, like this year with the class that he has that’s a little bit challenging, and I’m watching the fact that he hasn’t run out the door screaming.”
Hooray For Monday is an award-winning weekly publication of Center for Inspired Teaching, a social change nonprofit organization that champions the power of curiosity and is dedicated to transforming the school experience from compliance-based to engagement-based. Inspired Teaching provides transformative, improvisation-based professional learning for teachers that is 100% engaging – intellectually, emotionally, and physically.
