Mary Friday Is the Girl Friday for all Lackland Elementary Students

Mary Friday is one of those quietly special teachers whom every student loves. Officially she works as a reading and resource teacher for students with special needs who have been included in traditional classrooms, but she is always ready and willing to help any student facing a challenge in learning.

"I’m not there to give them answers," Ms. Friday explains. The students know this too. "Students are learning what metacognition is - they are learning to dig into their background knowledge and apply what they already know to what we are studying so they learn to become more self-sufficient."

Ms. Friday also tutors students before and after school. Sometimes she tutors students in their homes and has been a homebound teacher for two students who were unable to attend school for an extended period. Her aim is to have no student singled out because of differences, regardless of the kind. "My favorite saying is ‘Bloom where you're planted.’ I tell these kids that because I know what it is like to be a child of a military family - you have to move around a lot."

One student waited to present his teacher with a little angel statue when her ExCEL award presentation concluded. "She is my angel, because she has helped me so much," he explained. "I call her Ms. Tuesday today because it’s Tuesday," he laughed. "But everybody here calls her their friend."