On the first day of school, Amanda Prosser injected humor, exercise and plenty of music into her new kindergarten class at Plank South Elementary School.

One of nearly 50 new teachers in the Webster Central School District, Prosser may also be one of the youngest. At 23, her life is not limited to teaching; she's a high school soccer coach.

And she entertains baseball fans as Mittsy, a Red Wings mascot.

"I've been busy my whole life," said Prosser, a Webster resident and member of the Webster Teachers Association. "If I wasn't busy, I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

Preparations for this school year kept Prosser busy with teachers' meetings and orientation. She was nervous and excited about what she faced.

"The challenges are getting to know all of (my) colleagues in the building ... proving myself to the parents that I am capable of teaching their children, and planning lessons," she said.

However, Prosser believes her experience as a teaching assistant and studying education in Rochester is enough, despite her youthfulness.

At Nazareth College, she was a psychology and education major, earning five certifications - special education for two age groups; general education for two age groups; and pre-kindergarten/kindergarten.

Prosser worked for seven months as a long-term substitute teacher at State Road Elementary School with kindergartners, an experience that she said made her embrace working with young children.

"They made me laugh every day; everything is new and exciting to them," she said. "I liked to show them different things."

Prosser believes her connections with teachers in the school district - she graduated from Webster Schroeder High School in 2003 - helped her land the position at Plank South. She shares a classroom with Tamara Schell, a 13-year teacher in the district and a member of the committee that interviewed Prosser.

"I think she demonstrated that she has an understanding of the age level of the kids, and adapts her instruction to fit the kids," said Schell, knowing Prosser for only a few weeks. "She really had a lot of experience with smaller groups of young kids."

Schell, 34, of Fairport, said she identified with Prosser's teaching style and philosophies. Both teach half days in the classroom and spend time together planning lessons and sharing ideas.

Prosser is a part-time teacher, working half-days in the afternoon, as well as a part-time graduate student at St. John Fisher College, working toward a master's degree in literacy education.

When she's not teaching, Prosser can be found on the soccer fields at Schroeder, coaching the freshman girls team.

Soccer runs in Prosser's family - her father, Dan, runs the Webster Soccer Association Indoor Soccer Complex. Even though she's an avid reader, Prosser enjoys spending time outdoors - and on Frontier Field as Mittsy.

It's her fourth year as mascot, working inside a big bird costume, entertaining the crowd.

"I can dance and be crazy and no one knows it's me," she said. Kids ask her silly questions such as, "Do you and Spikes have babies?" and "Are you and Spikes married?" (Spikes is the other Red Wings mascot.)

In the midst of her busy schedule, Prosser is happy and "fortunate" to be in the teaching profession and coaching young girls, she says.

Most of all, she wants to be a positive influence in her classroom like the teachers who influenced her.

"I just love the impact a teacher can have on a child," she says. "It's a lot of work, but the rewards overshadow that."

- Terricha Bradley, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Reprinted with permission.