RES welcomes teachers with VIP celebration

As students said farewell to the last few days of summer vacation, teachers too were dusting off their desks, preparing curriculum and getting ready for the first day of school. At Russellville Elementary School, that included a faculty meeting – but not just any faculty meeting. RES teachers were welcomed Thursday to a celebratory breakfast and VIP treatment.

Rising sixth grade students greeted teachers at the door flourishing posters with messages of appreciation, after which each teacher received a button proclaiming, “My boss thinks I’m kind of a big deal,” before entering the “VIP entrance” and walking the red carpet to their meeting room.

RES Principal Kristie Ezzell said the party was held for good reason.

“We changed everything last year – schedules, the way we teach, to better meet the needs of our students,” Ezzell said. “Our teachers just adapted. They took stuff home every night. They stayed up here until late – if you came by my parking lot at 6 o’clock, it was full. They put a lot of time into what they were doing. Our test results showed that, and so we feel like it’s time to celebrate them.”

Teachers were offered 100 Grand candy bars in thanks for “making Russellville Elementary School GRAND!” in a classroom bedecked with posters of inspirational phrases as they enjoyed their VIP breakfast.

“We just wanted to create a positive environment as our teachers start back to school and let them know that we appreciate them and the wonderful job they do – not just with test scores but every day,” assistant principal Paula Young said. “We wanted to really celebrate them.”

The theme and décor were dreamed up by counselor Michelle Murray, who said she took inspiration from Pinterest.

“Our teachers work so hard all year and are constantly giving of themselves for their students,” Murray said. “We just thought we would give back to our teachers and let it be about them today.”