LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ala. – This week, we head to Hatton Elementary School in Lawrence County to meet Heather Jolly.

 “She is very energetic! She is known to love her kids. She just loves her kids and she is a great teacher,” Said Principal Brittany Morgan. “She is the definition of a gifted teacher. She has the gift of it and she really makes a difference in the lives of her students.”

For Heather Jolly, it’s all about her kids. “They give me a purpose for my life,” says Jolly. “This is where God called me this is where God needs me and this is where I am supposed to be.”

Ryan Jolly wrote in bragging about his wife.

“I really love my husband. We lost his father the day school started.”

Her third grade students were her refuge. “These kids don’t know it but they saved me. They helped me.”

This is true admiration.

“I want them to know that I love them and I will always love them. I want them to know we have a relationship first, academics second. They are first, their happiness, their safety, their security. Are they happy? Are they fed? Are they loved? That’s what I want them to take away from me. They help me overcome things. They help keep me going. They help me keep a smile on my face. They help me put one foot in front of the other every single day.” Heather Jolly, Third Grade Teacher, Hatton Elementary. 

Tools for Teachers is sponsored by the North Alabama Educators Credit Union.