"A Day Made Better" at Ashley IB Magnet Elementary School

 

This morning, Maritza Riffo was working with the first-graders in her classroom at Ashley IB Magnet Elementary School when the door to her classroom burst open. In came a sizable group of people that, along with colleagues from her school, included people she had never met.

Understandably taken aback, she said, “What is this?”

It was a good thing. 

Riffo was the local winner in the “A Day Made Better” event, said Jennifer Stevens, an account executive with OfficeMax. In more than 1,000 classrooms across the country today, other groups were also presenting other teachers with $1,000 worth of educational materials as part of a national event sponsored by OfficeMax and AdoptAClassroom.org.

First, they wheeled in a brand-new chair just for Riffo. Following close behind came Steve Little and Adam Blackley, who both work at the OfficeMax in Winston-Salem, lugging a great big corrugated-cardboard box filled with educational supplies.

When it was time for a little speech, Riffo said: “Thank you so much. I just love what I do here. I love being with the kids. And I love teaching, and I love being in this school.”

“Let’s dig into the goodies,” called out one of the first-graders.

And that’s what they did. The students came over and helped Riffo see what all was inside. They found a backpack, markers, disinfectant wipes and all sorts of other things that will come in handy in the classroom. 

  

Looking on, Tommie Thompson, a kindergarten assistant who had come in for the surprise, said, “She is the hardest-working teacher I have ever met.”

Riffo is the only winner in Forsyth County. After things settled down a bit, the people from OfficeMax read the letter that Robert Ash, the principal at Ashley, sent when he nominated her:

 

“Ms. Riffo is an excellent first-grade teacher. She not only teaches her students all subjects for first grade, but she does it in English and Spanish. She is part of our school’s Dual Immersion program that helps students become bilingual in English and Spanish by the end of fifth grade. Her class of 24 students consists of native English and Spanish students. She does all of this while maintaining a wonderful sense of responsibility, humility, and compassion. She strives for all of her students to reach far beyond their own abilities and sees her students excel. She is a remarkable teacher who well-deserves to be recognized for her efforts.”

When Little shot some photographs, he asked the students to make faces for the camera. They were happy to oblige.