Bridgeport’s Tammy Aragona received a special accolade at Tuesday night’s Harrison County Board of Education meeting.

 

The Big Elm Elementary Kindergarten teacher was named September Employee of the Month.

 

“I just feel honored to have been nominated,” she said. “I don’t think people realize the extra work teachers put in even after they leave school, so it’s just nice to be recognized for the time and effort I put into my job.”

 

Aragona received the award from Dr. Mark Manchin, superintendent of Harrison County Schools. In attendance were some of her Kindergarten students and their families, who showered the teacher with flowers. 

 

A designated committee of the BOE reviews nominations and decides upon a school board employee to be honored each month. Aragona was nominated by the family of a student she had last year, she said.

 

She has been teaching Kindergarten at Big Elm for 16 years and cannot imagine any other profession.

 

“I think the reason why I love teaching Kindergarten so much is because you can really see the growth of the kids from the beginning of the year to the end of the year,” she said. “They leave my classroom reading and they enjoying reading.”

 

Aragona said she dreamed of being a teacher since she was a little girl.

 

“I had some really good teachers and I think they inspired me to become a teacher,” said Aragona about her educators at Summit Park Elementary School. “There were some who went above and beyond really stood out.”

 

After graduating from Liberty High School, she entered West Virginia University as an education major and subsequently earned her degree.

 

These days, she spends evenings grading papers and working on report cards, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

“I tell people all the time that I have the most rewarding job. I just really enjoy the kids,” she said. “When I go to work, I’m greeted with smiles, I get pictures drawn for me and I get hugs. There aren’t too many other jobs you can go to and get that. It’s just the sweetness of it all – along with watching the kids succeed and go through accomplishments throughout their school year.”