Orange Beach Elementary teacher says first grade is a magical grade
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (WKRG) — We caught up with Phoung Doffee on the playground at Orange Beach Elementary School as she let dozens of energetic first-graders let out some of that energy.
Doffee said her parents immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam.
“And so they came to America for an education for us—and now I get to educate kids,” she said.
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And she loves her first-graders because she believes that’s where the magic starts to happen with students.
Doffee said, “They’re learning how to read in first grade—that’s their foundational year.”
They go from learning their sounds to being fluent readers and it’s just amazing.”
And being a teacher of elementary students in a beach-side community isn’t so bad either.
“Involvement with the community, the parents, the schools–it’s like one big happy community,” she said.
But the real magic is how much Doffee makes students feel like part of that community, according to the person who nominated her for a Golden Apple Award.
“I mean my kids are military—we’ve moved around a lot. And this is the first time my kid actually begs to go to school every day—and she makes the environment so fun,” said nominator Lindsay Oldham.
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Our congratulations to Phoung Doffee and Orange Beach Elementary School for a job well done.
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