July Honoree

Carese Bott was chosen as a “student teacher” for an art class in high school and from there on out, she was hooked on teaching. She has been teaching for about 20 years now and most recently at Springdale Elementary in RISD (Richardson). This is a new campus for Carese so she is really excited!

Carese Bott works with 6^th graders in Language Arts & Reading and also works with Title I students. These students are living at the poverty level and tend to have little support at home. When she can catch them up to what should be their reading grade level she feels like she has been instrumental in making their lives that much better.

Carese loves it when the kids accidentally call her “Mama”. She finds this rather endearing and tells them that she is their “Mama” at school. Carese hopes that in the future no student is passed onto the next grade until they really grasp the basics because in that situation, educators are not doing any students any favors.

When Carese is not grading papers or attending school functions, she is reading and spending time with her children.

Carese was really excited to be nominated as this month’s ABCDifference honoree. No one has ever done anything like this for her before. She felt like Adriana and Blanca really listened to her and did what was best for her.  She absolutely loves her new look!

June Honoree

Emily Taylor has been a middle school teacher specializing in Math and Science for the past 6 years at Stockard Middle School in Oak Cliff. Next year she will be teaching at Quintanilla Middle School and we are excited to announce her as our June Honoree. What makes teaching rewarding for Emily is when she sees a student accomplish goals they once thought unattainable. Emily has been instrumental in introducing students to higher education by taking them on field trips to visit various college campuses and instilling in them the drive to continue their education beyond the high school level. She has received many handwritten letters from students thanking her for the experience and she keeps all of them because they mean so much to her. Emily hopes that the education system will continue to evolve to allow equal access for all students and that more funding will be provided for the valuable resources that students and teachers need to be more successful.

Outside of the classroom, Emily loves spending time with her teenage son and two dogs unplugged and enjoying the outdoors. As a full-time mom and a full-time teacher, one can imagine that Emily doesn't have loads of free time to spend on herself. In fact, she hadn't colored her hair in two years and hadn't had a cut in six months so she was super excited and very grateful when she learned that she had been nominated and chosen by The ABCDifference as this month's Honoree.

Emily found both Adriana and Blanca easy to talk to, funny, and down to earth. She appreciated their expertise in determining what color and style would work best for her. Emily loves her new look and is going to do her best to maintain it!

Check out her new look!

April Honoree- Cassia Gettens

We feel fortunate to be featured on WFAA for our first teacher makeover. It was fun working with Mike Castellucci and his crew. Adriana was nervous and Blanca was a pro in front of the camera. Check out the video and read more about our first honoree. 

As a small child, Cassia Gettens loved to play school so it was only natural that when she grew up, she became a teacher. Cassia teaches 7th and 8th grade Athletics, Reading, and ISS (In School Suspension - uh oh!) at Lake Highlands Jr. High. Students often reach out to Cassia for not only homework advice, but for life advice and that speaks volumes about her dedication as a teacher and her willingness to help others. Cassia finds that the most rewarding part of being an educator is knowing that her students trust her and look to her for guidance. Coach Gettens hopes that education will shift the focus away from standardized testing and more on preparing students for the realities of life. Many of Cassia's students call her 'Mama' because she is such a great role model and she finds this incredibly endearing. 

Outside of the classroom, Cassia loves to watch her kids play sports. She also likes to try to get in a few extra winks of sleep whenever she can! Cassia was very happy and honored to have received this gift from The ABCDifference. Adriana and Blanca made her feel relaxed, comfortable, and appreciated. She had so much fun and felt so special that she was smiling the entire time. Adriana and Blanca are ecstatic that Cassia is loving her new look!

http://www.wfaa.com/video/castellucci/Hair-stylists-give-back-to-Dallas-teachers-257416411.html