HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Mrs. Toiya Smith of Williams Elementary in Huntsville is the Valley's Top Teacher.
She teaches Kindergarten, and she was surprised when FOX54's Aiyana Willoughby told her she'd been nominated by someone from her school.
"It just validates how I feel," Mrs. Smith explained. "Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough and so being able to be recognized like that it lets me know that what I'm doing is working."
She's excelling at her job, and its clear to see that her students adore her.
"She's a good teacher, sometimes when we go to the gym she tells us to sit down and she lets us run around a little bit," Kindergartener Tylar Ricks said.
Kindergartener Joshua Mason expresses that Mrs. Smith's patience is a part of the reason why he loves her.
"She comes and looks at our papers when were done with them," Joshua Mason said.
She's been teaching for 23 years, and she believes there is no place she'd rather be.
"They're my babies they're my kids and I try to treat them with care and I want to know that you are learning how to read and you are learning how to write and that you are learning how to be productive members of society." Mrs. Smith said.
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