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Terri Valentine from McGraw Elementary School is one of this year's Apple for the Teacher Award recipients. She was nominated by Sherri Carrow.
"I would like to nominate Mrs. Terri Valentine for the Apple for the Teacher Award. I will start off by saying though there is no way I will be able to put into less than 100 words what a wonderful teacher this lady is and what she has done for our daughter.
Last spring my 5-year daughter Emily was rushed in for hip reconstructive surgery during her kindergarten year. Prior to the surgery she had always been ecstatic about her teacher, her new friends, and learning all the new stuff. When we found out about the surgery we immediately met with her teacher and school administration to let them know what was happening and that she would be out for at least two months after the surgery while she was in a body cast. The school offered to send a tutor home during that time. In the days that followed I had many conversations with her teacher, Mrs. Valentine about how Emily would handle the surgery and being away from school and friends.
When it came time for the tutor to start we were excited to learn that Mrs. Valentine had volunteered to do the tutoring after school each day. So even after a full day at school she would take the time to come to our house and tutor for our child. Mrs. Valentine went out of her way each day she spent with Emily making sure she felt connected to her classmates and like she was still a part of the class. The accommodations in working with Emily were not always easy either, being in a body cast and in a lot of pain Mrs. Valentine went out of her way to help Emily. There were days Mrs. Valentine would be sitting on the floor, sitting next to a hospital bed, sitting on a stool to be at her height, whatever it took to make Emily comfortable in her cast Mrs. Valentine never wavered on her dedication and focus being Emily. She made accommodations in teaching style and in materials to help Emily out. She brought different magnetic materials, different writing materials, styles of books, etc. so no matter what position Emily was in with her body cast and pain level she was able to make the best out of each day.
Aside from the teaching though was the dedication this teacher has to her students and the connection she makes with each one. There were days when Emily was so depressed over the cast and being away from her friends that she would cry, but no matter what her day had been like the minute Mrs. Valentine walked in she always brought a smile to her face. Watching your child go through something like this is terrible but having such a wonderful teacher involved helped things go so much better. Mrs. Valentine did not have to tutor her but did so out of the kindness of her heart and dedication. She stated how she wanted to make sure Emily still felt like a part of her class and that when she was able to return felt like she had not missed a beat with her classmates. She would bring home notes and pictures from the classmates and even helped us plan a special day for Emily on her birthday so we could bring her into the school for a birthday celebration with her classmates. She took pictures of Emily into the classroom and talked with her friends about her surgery and being in the cast. She wanted to make sure the kids felt comfortable and not scared of the cast or wheelchair, which in turn made it much easier on Emily and for all the kids to concentrate on having fun.
At the end of the year she even helped make special arrangements for Emily to attend a class field trip, still making sure she was involved as much as possible. She goes above and beyond when it comes to her students. She is an amazing teacher! Although Emily has now moved up to 1st grade the excitement my daughter gets on her face the minute she sees Mrs. Valentine is priceless. The minute she sees her she wants to run over and give her a hug. At such a young age she has in stowed a love of school for the rest of her school years. And her new desire is to grow up and become a teacher. As a parent my admiration for this teacher is unbelievable. At a time when my daughter was going through the worst experience of her life this woman had such positive impact on her and our family. We could never convey our deepest thanks to her.
To all of the teachers that follow they have HUGE shoes to fill. To the McGraw School administration you made a great choice in hiring this teacher and for giving her to tools and ability to make such an impact on our children’s lives."
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