Louise Ricks Makes a Difference

Mrs. Ricks started working for Sugar-Salem School District in January of 2003. She worked as a one-on-one aide and as a Special Education resource assistant for the first 5 years. In the fall of 2007, she began working as a Title I paraprofessional and has been working in that position to this day. This is her 14th year working in Title I and her 19th year overall working in the Sugar-Salem School District.

Mrs. Ricks has many qualities and standards that set her apart. First and foremost, she is a hard worker. She counts as three or four or more working adults. She is always moving and always working to help our students have meaningful learning experiences. She sees things that need to be done and has the skill and work ethic to dig in and get it done. She is consistently patient and kind to both students and staff.

She sees people. And she sees the best in people while working to help her students reach their highest potential. She encourages students in a positive way which helps motivate them to try harder and accomplish more. She isn’t able to leave work at work. She thinks about her students at home and problem solves at home how to reach students in positive ways at school. Her high level or organization and her ability to strongly communicate with students and staff are a couple more of her strong suits. To try to capture all that she does seems almost impossible, but maybe simply knowing that she genuinely loves and cares for students would give people a general idea of her absolute value to our school. Overall, she is one of the most dedicated, talented staff members to have ever worked in our school district. Our community, school and especially our kids are fortunate to have her on our team.

Thanks, Louise!!! You’re simply the best!

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Mr. Harris Makes a Difference

Mr. Harris is currently in his 9th year as a third-grade teacher at Central Elementary. He loves helping his students succeed and is very talented in doing that very thing. He is always busy helping and preparing throughout the school year and on his farm in the summer. This year Mr. Harris is the 3rd grade team lead and has spent several years as part of the district “Safety Committee”.

His students love being in his class and work well together.

Comments from students below:

“He is SUPER nice and helpful to me when I’m doing math.”

“Mr. Harris is never mean and speaks kind to us,”

“He helps us when we are doing centers.”

“If we get our work done, he lets us do centers. He is nice.”

Thank you, Mr. Harris! We appreciate all you do to make a difference!

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Mrs. Singleton Makes a Difference

Sheri Singleton is a “Teacher Who Makes a Difference” at Kershaw Intermediate School. This is Mrs. Singleton’s 23rd year teaching in the Sugar-Salem School District, and she teaches 6th grade Math. She is an organized, dedicated, and caring teacher. She is a huge part of our school and works tirelessly to help each student be successful. She sees the best in her students and works to help each of them reach their full potential. She makes a positive difference in student lives by inspiring them to never stop learning and to always try to improve.

I asked several students, “What do you like about Mrs. Singleton?”

“She’s really nice and patient.”

“She’s really nice and good.”

“She teaches well.”

“She has a good rhythm of how she does things.”

“She’s nice and doesn’t give us too much homework.”

“She helps us with work a lot.”

Thank you so much, Mrs. Singleton! You make a difference!

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