Wlaf1450
TOP PHOTO: Elk Valley Elementary School Principal Nancy Lay and Senator Ken Yager celebrate the school’s STEM School recognition in August 2019.
PIONEER, TN (WLAF) – Educators have done an outstanding job despite all the changes the past school year has thrown at them. WLAF is continuing its salute to Campbell County school staff with this week’s feature on Elk Valley Elementary STEM School Principal Nancy Lay.
Lay is in her 21st year as an educator. Twenty of those have been spent at Elk Valley and one year was as Curriculum Coordinator at Campbell County High School. During her time at Elk Valley, she has served in different roles including kindergarten teacher, first grade teacher and literacy coach. She has been the principal at Elk Valley for the last 11 years.
Lay said it was having special teachers in her own life that inspired her to follow a career in education. “I can recall a couple of teachers who inspired me and cared for me when I was young. They took time out of their days to not only educate me, but to show me they cared for me on a personal level and assured me that I could excel in anything I wanted if I would just set my mind to it,” Lay said.
She said those teachers truly made a difference in her life, and it was because of their influence that she became an educator.
“I wanted to inspire others the way they inspired me and hopefully make a difference. Elk Valley is my home and where better to make a difference than where you live,” Lay said.
Her favorite part about being an educator is “seeing those little faces light up when a student finally “gets it.” “It can be a math solution they have finally learned how to master, or reading a passage on level with fluency for the first time. There is nothing that compares to the look on their faces when they light up with pride for their accomplishments,” Lay said.
According to Lay, the greatest positive this year for Elk Valley, despite the pandemic, is “relationships.” She said she feels the pandemic has brought everyone closer, students and teachers alike and has given everyone”more patience for one another.”
“We have wonderful educators and students at Elk Valley, and I am always proud of how everyone cares for one another. The pandemic has emphasized to most of us that relationships come first, then learning can take place,” Lay said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 03/18/2021-6AM)