Elon alumna honored for distinguished teaching

Elon alumna Allyson Golightly '13 was recently honored by Hood College for her service as an elementary school teacher in Frederick, Maryland. The honor was reported on by Herald Mail Media, with the following article and photo republished with permission.

—

Allyson Golightly '13, who teaches first grade at Butterfly Ridge Elementary School in Frederick, Maryland, recently received the 2019 Charles E. Tressler Distinguished Teacher Award.

This award is sponsored by Hood College and is presented each May to a Frederick County Public School (Maryland) teacher who has had a significant impact on young people.

"Golightly conveys genuine love for children through the experiences she provides that enables them to discover difficult concepts and develop personal relationships," Principal Patty Hosfelt and Assistant Principal Susan Amerena wrote in a letter supporting Golightly’s nomination.

A 2009 graduate of Tuscarora High School, Golightly majored in elementary education and minored in mathematics and coaching at Elon University in North Carolina, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2013. She studied in Costa Rica for a semester and learned conversational Spanish living with a Costa Rican family and teaching in a school there. During college, she earned a Fulbright scholarship to teach English in South Korea for a year. There, too, she lived with a host family.

At Butterfly Ridge Elementary, she and another teacher started a club that focuses on physical fitness and coding. She uses her conversational Spanish to help students who are learning English communicate their choices with cafeteria staff.

Getting to know students, she motivates them to achieve academic success, devoting her lunch and planning times to mentor and guide them. For example, to encourage a little girl struggling to master a math concept, Golightly '13 created word problems with examples she knew would interest the child, who loved unicorns and My Little Pony toys.

The late Samuel Eig of Gaithersburg, Md., established the Tressler Award to recognize Tressler, a Giles professor emeritus of early childhood education who taught at the college from 1964 to 1990. Tressler chaired Hood’s Education Department for 18 years and served on the school’s graduate-school council for 12 years.

Hood College will formally present Golightly '13 the award during its graduate-school reception this month.