For teachers at Hampton-Dumont Community School District, Teacher Appreciation Week is more than a calendar event—it’s a reflection of the relationships built inside the classroom every day.
At South Side Elementary, that impact spans generations.
Wendy Wikert has spent more than three decades in the district, now serving as a reading specialist at the same school system she once attended as a student. Wikert tells RadioOnTheGo News it’s the students who motivate her each day.
“I just love kids, Wikert says. “I could literally hang out with them and talk with them all day. And I love the excitement in their eyes when they figure something out and they solve it on their own. It’s amazing. And in reading, no little pathway is the same. So it’s so exciting all the time. No day is the same. You never know what they might do or say. And then I think they’ll never say that. And then they do. And it’s crazy. And to see their excitement. I just love their excitement all the time when they get to do different things in the classroom. Just their excitement and their love, you the little hugs you get, they’re amazing.”
Just down the hall, fourth-grade teacher Miranda Stafford is marking a different kind of milestone—ten years in the classroom, with a full-circle moment as the Hampton-Dumont Class of 2026 becomes the first group of students she ever taught.
“They were my first group and I was lucky enough to have them as third graders and fourth graders… So I have always wanted to be a teacher,” Stafford says. “This has been my calling since I’ve been a student. It’s been the only path that I’ve ever wanted to take. Just kind of the same as Wendy, just have always loved kids and the thought of teaching and the thought of helping students and just that I’ve always been a people person and just wanting to help. So that’s been my passion is just wanting to help kids.”
As Teacher Appreciation Week continues through Friday, educators like Wikert and Stafford say the recognition is meaningful, but it’s the day-to-day moments in the classroom that matter most.
Photo left to right: Wendy Wikert, Miranda Stafford and Elementary Principal Beth Frenchick
Full interview below
