They say there's something magical about C.C. Pinckney Elementary School, an aura that makes teaching students there a blessing. From the very moment they stepped into its halls they felt it and it has helped them elevate educating military students.
This was the consensus reached by teachers Lisa Reed and Amy Watford, who were recently named 2017 district teacher of the year and teacher of the year respectively.
Fourth grade teacher Reed was named 2017 South Carolina/Fort Stewart/DoDDS Cuba District Teacher of the Year while special education teacher Watford garnered Pinckney's 2017 Teacher of the Year honors.
"There is a power in this building," Reed said. When my parents who were visiting for the first time "walked through the doors they could feel the bond and the love the staff has for each other. I have worked at six other schools and always did everything I could, but here you can do so much more just because you have so many people around helping you."
"This lady, she has it," C.C. Pinckney's principal Audrey Griffin said about Reed. "The first day I met her and I've seen her outside working with parents. She out there hugging the children and greeting them. And she is showing the passion with the Families and I just said, 'wow, I like this gal already.'"
For the school's principal, having a teacher named as district teacher of the year is old hat -- it is the third time a teacher on her staff has earned that award while both teachers credited the school for the honors.
"It's a huge honor to be nominated and for your peers to tell you 'you are doing a good job,'" Watford said.
Reed said she agreed adding "to be singled out from your peers is almost surreal."
Being singled out for recognition can cast a bright light on what a teacher does that might not otherwise be acknowledged.
"For someone, for me, I teach a special education self-contained class and I do things that are very different from what most of the teachers here do," Watford said. "I teach a life skills curriculum. A lot of times people don't want to recognize you, it's they don't think about you. They think about a teacher who (teaches a regular curriculum). For me it's special, not only for me but the educational aides in the classroom and my students that their teacher was recognized for something special."
"They are individuals who step out of their comfort zone and try to do new things," said Griffin, who became principal of the school last year. "They are willing to volunteer and help anyone around the school. In their classrooms I see them giving themselves to the students.
The teachers said they were successful because they are backed by a professional and dedicated staff.
"We are surrounded by such an excellent staff that it's easy to be successful," said Reed, who has been teaching for 16 years. You can work really well "when you are supported by such awesome people"
Those awesome people comprised the entire staff.
"I feel like the top every person in this school: office staff, Ms. Griffin (the principal), support staff, cafeteria staff, custodial staff they really care about these kids and the school," Watford added.
"They are professionals," Reed interjected. "It's not a begrudged kind of assistance. It's, 'Oh absolutely what can I do? And if you need anything else please make sure you ask.'"
"There's no better place to work," Watford said.
Winning wasn't solely about the teachers, but the students as well.
"Any recognition this school gets it falls back on the students," Reed said. The recognition makes the children work harder causing more Family participation. "It becomes a community of one and not so much about one person. It's about everybody at this school building each other up to make an incredible team.
"Yes, one person got recognized but it's about the school."
The kids also reveled in the honors.
"It's a recognition for me but it's also a recognition of my classroom and of my kids," Watford said. "They were so excited. They were screaming 'my teacher, my teacher, my teacher!' I think for them and the three teacher's aides in my classroom it was a huge honor for us."
"I tell anyone who will listen that this job is truly a blessing," she added.
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