Robinson Elementary School kindergarten teacher Lisa Bessiere has been named teacher of the year for the downtown school.
Miss B, as her students know her, has been at Robinson for 13 of her 14 years teaching.
"I think I started just for the love for kids," she said. "With kindergarten kids, we get the pleasure of watching them grow. They come to us and they're just babies and by the end of the school year, you can really see the difference."
She says she was shocked when she was announced as teacher of the year for the school.
"I was blown away. I was really shocked," she said. "Every teacher here is amazing. I do a good job here because I was trained by the best. Robinson is the best place to work."
Bessiere, who has been teaching kindergarten for 10 years, said that she tries to take each child individually.
"I just take in all the kids right where they are. They are all different and we try to love them for who they are," she said. "The state [standards] seems to think it's just one umbrella for all this kids, but that's just not the case. They are each unique own little person and you just have to find out what works for them."
And it's that care that Principal Roxanne Howard said made her this year's choice.
"She deserves this recognition. She is an amazing teacher," Howard said. "She does a great job with the kids in their learning and builds a great relationship with them. She always has a smile on her face."
Even parents of Bessiere's former students feel compelled to get in on education after meeting her.
"I met Mrs. Bessiere when my daughter started kindergarten here. Two years later, I started to work here and I started to work with her," said Melanie Wilder, Bessiere's paraprofessional. "I have worked with her for ten years now. She's my coworker and she's my best friend."
But, in the end, it's the children that are the important part of her job.
"I try to teach these kids to just love one another and be kind to one another," she said. "That's what I really try to teach - respect and love. We're a family."