SOMERVILLE, Ala. — This next teacher we’re about to meet has put in the work. She’s put in more than three decades worth of work! People who know her say she is very loving, caring, and makes each student feel exceptional. Meet this week’s Top Teacher, Debbie Thomason from Cotaco Junior High School.
“I still love it. I still love it." Thomason has been loving what she does for thirty-two years. She specializes in special education. “I think it chose me. It just happened.”
Her principal, Kim Crow, works alongside Thomason, and is a witness to Thomason’s impact. “I’ve known Ms. Thomason since I’ve been here which is 21 years now. Yes, and she was here way before I began, which is more than 30 years that she’s been teaching.”
Crow believes Thomason’s impact is far beyond the years she’s been teaching. “It’s immeasurable. We have students who come back to visit Ms. Thomason all the time, years and years later. It means so much for them to come and speak with her and tell her the impact that she’s made on their life,” said Crow.
Thomason says in her years, she’s come across some challenges. “Every year brings a challenge. No two years are ever the same. Getting the children motivated, we seem to have more and more not interested in apathy and we have to work on that even more than ever this year.”
While Thomason is moved to motivate them, they motivate her in turn. “I love working with the children. I love seeing them learn. I love helping them. I just love every aspect of it.”
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