Laraida Pies, Three Mile Creek Elementary
Apr 10, 2025, 9:08 PM | Updated: May 8, 2025, 10:03 pm
“We would like to see Mrs. Pies receive recognition for the beautiful person that she is. She has made a difference in not only our child’s life, but our family’s. Our daughter is 8 yrs old. She has been diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. School is a challenge for her to say the least. These are almost debilitating issues for her, but they are made worse by her recent trauma.
Our 14 yr old son committed suicide in our home and our girl, Reide, was with us when we found him. She had to watch as I desperately tried to revive him. She lost her best friend that day and doesn’t understand why he left her. She carries his pictures and a “stuffie” with her everywhere she goes. Mrs Pies knows about our circumstances and she has accomodated Reide above and beyond what can be expected from someone. Reide copes with art, particularly drawing. Mrs Pies lets her keep her pictures of her brother on her desk and her “stuffie” with her at all times. Reide is allowed to draw all day as long as she is paying attention and participating. Sometimes Reide becomes overwhelmed and overstimulated. She has noise canceling headphones for this and she wears them all day. When she can’t cope with her environment Mrs Pies lets her sit under her desk, again as long as she is paying attention and participating. She has a tracker that she uses throughout the day to track Reide’s activities and participation and she sends a picture of it to us everyday. She has given us her personal cell number and contacts us every day after school along with the the tracker pic with her thoughts about the day. Reide left her “stuffie” at school on a Friday once and she was in extreme distress about not having it. I texted Mrs Pies to ask if she had seen it when she left. She went to the school and found it and brought it to Reide at our home. The love, compassion, empathy and understanding that she has shown Reide is not only WAY above and beyond for a teacher, but for a person. She has saved our little girls life. Literally. Without her we would have lost Reide.”
-Nikki Jacobson
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Teachers are the backbone of our community, and at KSL NewsRadio, we want to highlight the hard work they put in to help their students.
Do you know a teacher that goes above and beyond? Nominate them today by letting us know how incredible they are, attach their photo, and they’ll have the chance to win a huge prize totaling over $1,000!
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