Anjeanette Armstrong – Early Light Academy

Mrs. AJ is simply over the top. I cannot say enough about the wonderful, engaging learning environment she creates for her students. She empowers each student with responsibility and cheers him or her on to excellence in all they do. She is not only an amazing teacher, but she is a wonderful woman who loves her students like no one I have ever seen.

Just last week, she truly went over and above, as one of my twin boys, both of whom are in her 2nd grade class, had to undergo an upper endoscopy. He was understandably very nervous about this procedure. Not only did she have the class sign a sweet, handmade card for my Brayden, she also gave him a heart shaped rock to take with him to the hospital so that he would feel the love of his entire class. The morning of Brayden’s procedure she texted me a picture of the class cheering him on, along with a picture of his twin brother, Rowen, holding a matching heart rock she had given him to hold onto, so he wouldn’t be scared knowing his brother was under anesthesia and going through some scary testing. The pictures are simply priceless. Her thoughtfulness made me cry. Still does.

Brayden would not let the heart rock out of his sight (or hand). It brought him so much comfort, and as soon as, he got over feeling terribly sick from the anesthesia, he wanted me to text Mrs. AJ and ask if he could talk to her and the class and tell everyone not to worry and that he was being brave. While I certainly did not want to interrupt her class, I texted letting her know Brayden’s request, but also assured her that she did not need to call and interrupt her teaching. Within about 10 minutes she had texted me back and said her and the class would love to Face Time Brayden. It was THE sweetest gesture and made his day.

Brayden has been struggling with an, as of yet, undiagnosed disease. He started with what we thought was acid reflux about 9 months ago and now no meds have been working and he’s been getting worse and worse. He has been regurgitating (vomiting mouthfuls at a time of undigested food) 20-30x+ a day. Obviously, this has been happening at school and Mrs. AJ has done a phenomenal job of trying to normalize the situation for both Brayden and the students. He has to run out of his class multiple times a day to vomit. She has taken it all in stride and made Brayden feel safe as he struggles with his symptoms.

This is just one example of how invested she is in each of her students. Her students love and adore her and most importantly, she loves and adores them back. She goes the extra mile in both creating a safe learning environment, as well as making the kids feel safe emotionally. I cannot think of another teacher who deserves this honor more than Mrs. AJ does and I know I am not alone in finding her to be fabulous and such a gift to our students.

Thank you so much for considering her. Nothing would warm my heart more than seeing her receive such a deserved recognition.

-Jeana Anderson