Nominated by: Bryton Labarge

I had Covid on our meet the teacher day. My teacher welcomed me to stop in any day before school started the week before. I came with my mom the day before school started and saw her sitting in each desk and putting her head down and hands folded we sat in the hall to not interrupt her and we asked afterwards what she was doing and she said praying for each of my students! I don’t like to pray for the class but each of you! (We go to a Lutheran school so god and prayer are welcome). I knew it would be a good year. I have adhd and I used to feel like my teachers thought I was bad and I got in trouble a lot. I hated school and would pretend to have Covid so I could stay home for 5 days. I felt like I would always be known as bad even though I work very hard with my mom and a therapist and my doctor to control myself. This year I felt like my teacher loved me and thought I was amazing. I didn’t ask to stay home once, and I have yet at the end of the school year to get any discipline actions. My teacher helped me be a great student. I get good grades even though I used to get in trouble. She had taught me to be kind and she made me feel important and loved. My dad died on Thanksgiving, November 28th and my birthday was the Monday after Thanksgiving break. December 2nd. My mom let me choose to go to school or stay home for my birthday because I was so sad about my dad. I didn’t want a birthday party this year but I did want to go to school so I could tell my teacher about my dad and get a hug from her. Actually I needed to see her that day. So my mom brought me and my birthday treat and she sat with me while I told my teacher about my dad and she hugged both of us she let us cry and she assured my mom that she would do everything possible to help me get through this day and year! and she prayed with me and then she wished me a happy birthday and she let me tell the class. That was hard. She helped me put my dad on the prayer board and she had the class pray with me. She allowed me to get lots of hugs and then she announced that we were going to put the sad in a box for the rest of the day and we were going to celebrate my birthday because that is also special and something to be celebrated too. I never ended up staying home to grieve my dad, instead I came to school every day to be surrounded by people who cared and supported me. My teacher attends my classmates and my band concerts and basketball games and any other events we ask her to come to. She encourages us to show kindness to the other kids in our class and the whole school. She runs a kindness club and there are so many kids who joined and we all show kindness after school each week to the school our church and our community. I would be so grateful to nominate my teacher for the best teacher ever because she has never yelled at any of us, she is nice and kind and everyone feels like the best student in class. She is also like a mom and friend and teacher all in one! She deserves every award in the world and I want her to be my teacher again next year! I will never forget her and I will try to visit her forever when she isn’t my teacher anymore! please consider her for your award! Love Bryton