Fairness, love of job make Fulton teacher of the year great

FILE-Bartley Elementary School teacher Vicky Salmons is seen in the fifth-grade classroom.
FILE-Bartley Elementary School teacher Vicky Salmons is seen in the fifth-grade classroom.

Unlike many of her coworkers, Vicky Salmons did not grow up with the dream of becoming a teacher, or decide upon education as her future vocation while in college. She did not decide to pursue that path until after she was a married mother of four.

Despite that late start, colleagues and parents of students all agree that Salmons, a longtime fifth-grade teacher at Bartley Elementary School, is one of the best educators in the district. That designation was made official when Salmons recently was named Fulton Public Schools' Teacher of the Year.

It is an honor her principal, Connie Epperson, said is well-deserved.

"When I look at Vicky I see someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to help kids learn," Epperson said of Salmons. "Students just thrive under her teaching. When you look at her students' MAP scores and compare them to the state average, they're usually 15 to 20 points above that."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.