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Wlaf1450
By Charlotte Underwood
JELLICO, TN (WLAF)- Educators make a difference in students’ lives every day. For many students, having a school employee who cares and goes that extra mile can be the difference in a successful education and graduation. We’ve all had that teacher, or school employee who inspired us or helped in some way. That’s why WLAF and Eagle Tire Pros salute all of our hardworking educators with a weekly feature.
Sarah Smith is Eagle Tire Pros Educator of the Week. She teaches second grade at Jellico Elementary School and has been an educator for six years. For Smith, teaching at the elementary school where she inherited her own love of learning was always a dream of hers.
Smith is from Jellico. She graduated from Jellico High School in 2016 and graduated from the University of the Cumberlands in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and an emphasis in Fine Arts. She also has a Masters in Literacy Specialist from the Cumberlands also!
“I am a second-grade teacher at Jellico Elementary! It was always my goal to return to Jellico and teach at the school I attended, at the school which gave me a love of learning, and to make a difference in the lives of children. It is such a reward for me to teach the children of our community,” Smith said.
This is her 6th year teaching, with five of those years at Jellico Elementary School. Smith has taught in grades 1, 2, and 3!
She said she had many wonderful teachers throughout her education that inspired her to follow a career in teaching, but it was in one special teacher’s classroom that Smith learned she wanted to teach. She also had a special teacher in high school that inspired her as well.
“I attended Jellico Elementary/Middle for K-8th grade. My second-grade teacher, Susan Rutherford, was an incredible and loving teacher. It was in her classroom where I decided that I wanted to become a teacher. She truly loved each of her students and that was evident in her teaching. As for high school, Dee Day is an incredible art teacher. I loved each of her classes!” Smith said.
She also gives credit to h parents for believing in her and supporting her education career decision; teaching also runs in her family.
“My parents have always believed in me and everything I have chosen to do. As my mother would say, “The sky is the limit!” My grandparents were both schoolteachers and I have numerous aunts and uncles who also were teachers,” Smith said.
She loves her job, and she loves working at Jacksboro Elementary School, but her favorite part will always be the “ah-ha moments.”
“I love teaching. I love the silly moments and the giggles from a story we read. I love the “aha!” moments when a student learns something new. I love to see the connections they make to their own lives. I love our school, and I am so thankful to be a Jellico Blue Devil!”
Every Thursday, WLAF’s Charlotte Underwood features the WLAF – Eagle Tire Pros teacher of the week. That educator also receives a free oil change from Eagle Tire Pros. To nominate a teacher for teacher of the week honors, please send your nomination to wlaf@1450wlaf.com. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-10/09/2025-6AM)