Entertainment Music Taylor Swift's Teachers Recall What She Was Really Like in Elementary School: 'She Was Always Writing Poetry' "She always was writing poetry — always — even in music class, even when she shouldn't," said Swift's music teacher By Ingrid Vasquez Ingrid Vasquez Ingrid Vasquez is a Digital News Writer at PEOPLE. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor in Journalism. Before joining the team, she worked as an Editor at FanSided and provided work in the celebrity and lifestyle space for brands that include Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, EW, and more. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on April 24, 2024 07:10PM EDT Close Taylor Swift. Photo: Taylor Swift/ Instagram; Kevin Mazur/Getty Taylor Swift is making everyone proud! Amid the release of her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, CBS Philadelphia spoke with two of Swift's childhood teachers who said her love for music began at a very early age. Barbara Kolvek, Swift's elementary school music teacher, told the outlet that the Grammy winner, 34, said she wanted to be a singer in second grade. "She always was writing poetry — always — even in music class, even when she shouldn't," said Kolvek, who shared that she gave Swift "her very first singing solo." Taylor Swift singing the national anthem prior before a basketball game in April 2002. Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Taylor Swift Gives Fans a Glimpse Behind the Scenes of Making TTPD with 'Fortnight' Challenge Video The now-retired educator was Swift's music teacher from first to fourth grade and told the news station the two kept in touch "for a while." "I feel like maybe I gave her a little spark or encouragement to do what she was doing," Kolvek said. Heather Brown, Swift's third-grade teacher, spoke about Swift's "special quality." Photo of Taylor Swift performing as a child. Tobin Mitnick/Instagram Taylor Swift Explains the Meaning Behind 'Fortnight,' 'Clara Bow' and More The Tortured Poets Department Tracks "You always remember every student from the quality they have. Taylor's quality was just being she was one of those students where people just drew to," Brown told CBS Philadelphia. Brown told the outlet that although she still sends Swift a Christmas card every year even though "she probably doesn't get the messages anymore." Noting that everything Swift touches "turns to gold," she added that she is "just so excited to see what comes next." "When she comes out on stage and everyone's screaming 'Taylor,' it's like, oh my gosh, like I was her teacher," Brown said. Taylor Swift performing onstage in March 2023. John Medina/Getty Swift's childhood teachers have plenty to be proud of. After the release of The Tortured Poets Department, Swift broke multiple Spotify records, including becoming the most streamed artist in one day and the artist with the most streamed album in one day. Her new album also achieved over 300 million streams. Its first single, "Fortnight," became the most-streamed song in a single day in the streaming platform's history. In an Instagram post celebrating its release, Swift described the album as "an anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions, and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time - one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure." Taylor Swifts in the "Fortnight" music video. Taylor Swift/ X "This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted," continued Swift. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it," she added. "And then all that’s left behind is the tortured poetry."