Parent Teacher Magazine Union County Public Schools March 2015 | Page 4

Walter Bickett Elementary School teacher is named January ‘Hometown Hero’ Kim Jarzombek, a first-grade teacher at Walter Bickett Elementary, is the Hometown Hero for January. The UCPS graduate was honored on Friday, Jan. 9, with a surprise presentation from Principal Tom Childers and a representative from Charles G. Monett III and Associates. After the announcement, Jarzombek’s students cheered and her smile lit up the room. “I am in shock,” she said. “I had no idea this was happening.” Each month the law firm honors teachers in Mecklenburg, Lincoln, Catawba, Iredell, Cabarrus and Union counties for their service in public education. Jarzombek, a Weddington High School graduate, has been teaching for three years. “I totally love kids,” said Jarzombek. “Some days they teach me more than I teach them.” The nominations for the Hometown Hero Teacher Appreciation Award are ongoing throughout the school year. Winners are chosen based on the number