POMARIA, S.C. — Ms. Maria Thompson is a math resource teacher at Pomaria-Garmany Elementary School in Newberry County.
"She does a great job taking care of me," says Asher, Ms. Thompson's son.
Asher and his two twin sisters, Everleigh and Hayleigh, all attend the same elementary school where their mom teaches.
"I get to ride to work with her every day when I go to the same school that she works at," says Asher.
Ms. Thompson is not only a hit with her kids, but her students, too.
"Thank you for helping us learn timetable," says student Leah Burris.
"She teaches me math so I can get better in math class. Now I recently had A's and B's in my class," says student London Brooks.
Born in Newberry County, Ms. Thompson went to Whitmire and graduated from Newberry College.
"I ended up adding on my master's degree through the American College of Education, and I currently am attending online school for my Plus 30 and instructional technology. I'm a lifelong learner," says Ms. Thompson.
After graduating, Ms. Thompson decided to stay in the district to become a teacher. She's been working at Pomaria-Garmany Elementary School for the past 16 years.
"I work specifically with math intervention, so kids that need just a little extra help in math. And that is the story of my life. So as a young child, I struggled in math. And when this position opened up, I knew I wanted to do this part of teaching," says Ms. Thompson.
Ms. Thompson also enjoys spending time with her three child who attend the elementary school. She says the car rides to school are very special to her.
"Seeing them in the hallways and getting air hugs and high fives. I wouldn't trade that for anything. The kids grow up so quickly," says Ms. Thompson. "With my own kids of course at home, but the kids here, I want them treated just like I would treat my own kids. So the mom hat stays on. It's the one that doesn't go off. And then the teacher hat does sometimes appear at home too when forcing in a lesson over the summer break or spring break."
No matter at home or in the classroom, confidence is key.
"Math in particular has its own challenges for kids and they can overcome that. Believe in themselves and just help others around them try to learn. Use what they learned in this classroom and apply it in their own classroom," says Ms. Thompson.
If you know a teacher like Ms. Thompson who deserves to be recognized for their hard work in the classroom you can nominate them by emailing us at TOW@wltx.COM. Tell us what that educator is doing every day to go above and beyond in the classroom.