REMBERT, S.C. — Randy Small always greets his 4K students with a smile and a high five at West Lee Elementary School.
“It picks the energy up in the building. And I sometimes do high fives, but they can't quite reach it, so I have to bring it down,” says Small. “The education part is going to come, but we can teach about socialization and how to be better people and how to make friends. Everything else take care of itself.”
And he’s not only inspiring his students to do their very best, but also his co-workers like school nurse Brandy Lloyd, who nominated him to be a News19 Teacher of the Week.
“He made a real impact on me. Just seeing the way he interacts with all the kids and just the things that he does. If anybody asks him to do anything, he will do it,” says Lloyd. “He has made an impact, not only on the children, but also to the faculty and staff here at West Lee Elementary.”
“Our motto is that we're a small school with a big heart, and Mr. Small does display that big heart attitude. He has a heart for teaching, and his students love him,” says Dr. Veronica Bradley, Principal at West Lee Elementary.
Born in Timmonsville and a graduate of Benedict College, Small has been teaching for the past 8 years.
“I actually was a teacher cadet at Timmonsville. And I did my practicum with special needs, and I just knew where my heart was at, and it will need to be education," says Small.
And early education was his passion.
“My goal with them is to be just as you see, socialize. If they can socialize, that leads to us being better people. And when we be better people, the world's going to be a better place,” says Small.
And whether it’s coaching middle school basketball or teaching his 4K students, Small says all it takes is being present in the classroom.
“One of the things I pride myself on is perfect attendance. I have perfect attendance. Me, my youngest sister, and my older sister had perfect attendance, K through 12. So all three of us had perfect attendance. So our parents pride themselves on being accountable. It's basically being where your feet are,” says Small.
“He is so nice. He is just the nicest teacher,” says Lloyd.
“We're going to keep moving forward, and we're gonna continue to be great and try to move these young minds forward," says Small.
Through “The Carolina Collaborative for Alternative Preparation,” or “CarolinaCAP," Small was able to get his certification in child family development this past year.
If you know a teacher like Mr. Small 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.