Golden Apple Award: Candace Ryan, Signal Mountain Middle High School

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN, TN (WDEF) – Good teachers keep the lines of communication open with parents, just in case a student needs a little extra attention. The parent of a child in Candace Ryan’s homeroom at Signal Mountain Middle High School describes her as a wonderful and caring person.

Bumper Reese is the Assistant Principal.

He explains, “Ms. Ryan is phenomenal. This is her, she has only been with us for two or three school years now. She has fit in very nicely. Obviously, when you were just in the classroom, kids love her. She is a, she is a kid magnet. She loves what she teaches. She loves her kids.”

Ms. Ryan adds, “This is just my second year at Signal Mountain, and I love it. It’s been a wonderful experience for me.”

Freshman Tessa Murray-Ling says, “I have always kind of viewed her as the best teacher in my opinion. She is very not strict at all. She is very loose. I can easily have a conversation with her at any time.”

Freshman Simon Lewis chips in. “One thing that is special about Ms. Ryan is she has a really good sense of humor. Not that most teachers have, but she does. She is also very kind and helped us with our work.”

Ms. Ryan concludes, “I have always had a servant’s heart. My father taught me that we should always try to make other peoples lives better. My dad always talked to me on my level; every age always respected me, listened to me, made me feel like my needs and feelings were important, and that is something that I have learned from him even being a parent myself, and then I have brought that into my teaching. It’s been very valuable. For people who know me, they know that I do not like attention. I was just talking about how I hate when people sing happy birthday at a restaurant. So, it’s very humbling. I graciously thank you for that recognition, and this is the biggest surprise in my 15 years of teaching. So thank you so much.”