by Little Sunshine's Playhouse and Preschool

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2015 Company-Wide Teacher of the Year

WOW! What a year 2015 has been! It has been a busy, successful and truly fulfilling year here at Little Sunshine’s Playhouse. Every single educator and management team member has contributed something special and lasting to our team. Our successes lay at the feet of our educators and we are lucky to have the BEST team in the world teaching and learning with our kiddos every day. Throughout the year we had over one hundred educators nominated at their respective schools as “Teacher of the Month”, we ended 2015 with twelve spectacular women that we recognized as “Company-Wide Teacher of the Month”. From those twelve, we had a difficult decision ahead of us. Who would be the last woman standing as “Company-Wide Teacher of the YEAR”? We chose three of the best educators we’ve ever had at Little Sunshine’s Playhouse. These women were caring, driven and smart, but most of all, they adored their students and went above and beyond in their classrooms and schools.

These nominees were:

  • Samantha Lemley: Rogers, Arkansas
  • Fran Ellsaesser: Scottsdale, Arizona
  • Alley Sarge: Springfield (I), Missouri

Each of these women are loved and respected among their families, their co-workers and their management team. We had nominations flood in for each one of them, and it only reinforced that these teachers were the best of the best!

Samantha had the following remarks on our Facebook page:

  • “Ms. Samantha Lemley!! She is great. Our little man deals with daddy being gone for work months at a time and she helps ease any anxiety our little guy might have at school.  She communicates great with detailed LuvNotes and any emails I send her.” –Jae Brown Land
  • “Miss Samantha is a great teacher and sweetheart! She does her best to help the kids grow into great and smart individuals.” –Yesi Moreno
  • “Ms. Samantha because she’s a great teacher and loves the children. She is very creative! I love Ms. Samantha!” –Monica Castro

Fran also had wonderful words spoken about her:

  • “Ms. Fran does a wonderful job each day teaching, guiding, and carring for my Grandson. She does a wonderful job in the classroom with the lessons taught to the children and she really goes up and beyond to teach and care for all her students.  She also keeps the parents updated daily on how their child is doing.  Thank you, Ms. Fran.” –Michelle Seales
  • “Ms. Fran is a great preschool teacher and person all around. She works hard to create a challenging, nurturing environment for the toddlers in her class.  She always has a smile on her face and the parents love her as much as we do.” –Tamara Michelle
  • “Ms. Fran has been so amazing. Our daughter has attended three different preschools over the past two years, and Ms. Fran has been our favorite/the best! She always made our daughter feel comfortable and loved.  She went out of her way to give us daily updates on progress and tips on how to help her learn faster.  Fran knew we were also trying to teach our daughter Spanish, so she would help us out by speaking to her during the day in Spanish.  We can’t say enough nice things about Ms. Fran and hope you will honor her.” –Tana Davila

Unbelievable! We could go on and on about Samantha and Fran, their families and peers love them both and had so many phenomenal things to say about each of them! Thank you Samantha and Fran for all of your hard work and dedication at each of your schools. You are valuable assets to our team and we are extremely lucky to have each of you!

With that being said, we are beyond ecstatic to announce our 2015 Little Sunshine’s Playhouse Teacher of the Year, Miss Alley Sarge. Alley had an outpouring of love and admiration from friends, parents, staff and management that made her our choice for Teacher of the Year. Alley has done phenomenal things for her classroom and her classroom parents are so happy to have Alley’s charisma, enthusiasm, and attitude towards teaching instilled in their children every day. Alley’s love for her students is abundantly clear in the way she teaches and loves on her kiddos every day. Her daily communication to parents let them rest assured that their children are in a safe and nurturing environment, ready to learn! We received the following remarks from family feedback about Alley:

“Miss Alley is honestly an inspiration for all of us! She’s always positive and caring with not only her children, but her co-workers. My son will be in her class within the next year and he already knows and loves her. If anyone deserves this, she does.” –Shawnee Phillips

“Miss Alley was a teacher for my child and each day I would know that my child was with a caring, loving person and as a teacher and a parent that was a wonderful feeling. Thanks Miss Alley!” –Mary Hatfield

“Miss Alley’s provided the supportive and safe environment for my child to make great progress at LSP Springfield 1. For that reason and so much more, she deserves to be named the Teacher of the Year!! –Andrew Goodall

“My daughter has moved up to another classroom but still gives Miss Alley the biggest hugs every time she sees her! She is everything you hope for when you leave your baby in someone else’s hands for the day. We love Miss Alley!” –Rebekah Shockey

“…I am a retired first grade teacher of 35 years and know the value of an excellent teacher for children. Miss Alley is consistent, loving, creative, and fair. Her care for her students not only shows in the excitement she has for them when they meet her goals, but in the consistent, fair consequences given when the child does not follow directions. Her daily, weekly and monthly curriculum activities makes me want to be her student.” -Grandparent

Congratulations, Miss Alley! Thank you for all you do in the lives of your kiddos and families. It is evident how much you are truly cherished. We are so excited that your path led you to Little Sunshine’s Playhouse, Chestnut!