Longtime fourth grade science and social studies teacher Allison Smith is in the running for the nationwide competition, which allows supporters to cast one vote every 24 hours through Thursday, March 6.

Smith entered the contest after a few of her colleagues brought it to her attention and convinced her to throw her hat in the ring, according to fellow fourth grade teacher Elisabeth Stratford.

“She’s the most humble person you’re ever going to meet,” she said. “Allison would never in a million years do this herself but we all said, ‘You have to, you have to!'”

For Smith’s colleagues, it was a small gesture of recognizing her nearly three decades of teaching fourth grade at the Lake Placid Elementary School, where she has taught at the fourth-grade level the entire time.

School Principal Sonja Franklin, who has worked with Smith for 10 years, wrote in an email to the News that in Smith’s 28 years of teaching at the school, she has not stopped looking for new ways to innovate students’ educational experience.

“She has the wisdom of experience and the energy of an explorer,” she wrote. “She’s the person everyone likes and respects.”

Franklin noted that Smith has always looked for opportunities to grow her students’ educational experience outside of the classroom, or bring the outside world into the walls of the classroom, booking speakers and speakers and presenters from the Lake Placid-North Elba and Wilmington historical societies, Adirondak Loj, Fort Ticonderoga and many more.

“She emphasizes the history of our region while sparking interest in our students’ futures and how they can find a healthy mix of the two,” Franklin wrote.

Smith said bringing in local experts is something that she found students love.

“That’s been a really wonderful way to connect the community to the classroom,” she said. “It’s kind of nice to get people from outside of the classroom in the classroom. The kids are always so well-behaved and always so eager to learn from somebody other than their teacher who’s been in front of them the whole time.”

Smith said her inspiration to go above and beyond in arranging these guests to speak is simple — she owes it to her students.

She said that as long as the students are happy to be engaged in the class, that’s all the recognition she feels she needs. Looking back upon her 28 years of teaching at Lake Placid Elementary School, she said one of the highest compliments she received came when a parent shared an observation a student made.

“A parent had said to me once was that their son came home and said, ‘Every morning I come in the classroom and Mrs. Smith is smiling,'” Smith said.

At first, Smith said that while she was always happy to be with her students, she wasn’t fully aware of the positive energy she was radiating, and how that in turn set up a successful day for the students.

“I didn’t realize that (a) I was doing that and (b) just how important that was to set the environment for the kids,” she said. “It made me think, ‘wow, you make a real difference in children’s lives.'”

Wanting to continue to make a difference has pushed Smith to challenge herself. During her 28 years, she said she has had to navigate a host of changes at the school — whether its new curriculum requirements from the state, new colleagues and administrators and new technology. Smith said that she still does not use a lot of new technology or social media personally, and was at first hesitant to incorporate it into her teaching.

“It took me a little while to embrace technology,” she said. “I was kind of like, ‘no, no, no’ and then I started to use more technology and I realized just what a wonderful tool it was and how engaging it was with the students.”

This became especially crucial during COVID-19, when schools were shuttered. Smith teamed up with fellow fourth grade teacher Elisabeth Stratford to keep their students as engaged as possible while working remotely.

The duo began making Google Slides — an online presentation slide platform that can be shared between Google accounts — for students that had interactive features, such as educational video links, or assignments attached. It soon caught the attention of the Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES, which covers the Lake Placid Central School District.

“We were having fun,” Smith said. “And we were even acknowledged by the local BOCES and they asked us to do a workshop with teachers online to demonstrate how we could create these Google Slides that were engaging and seemed to work.”

Stratford, who has worked with Smith since 2019, wrote that getting creative and going the extra mile during COVID was on brand for Smith.

“Allison holds herself to a high standard,” she wrote. “She has taught the same subject and grade level for many years, but she is always changing up her lessons and materials to create the most interactive environments for our students. She is somehow always able to make learning fun for the kids, regardless of the topic or subject.”

Stratford wrote that in addition to her students, Smith has also taught her colleagues well.

“Allison has made me a better teacher since the first day I started working with her,” she wrote. “The high expectations she sets for herself has impacted me to do the same for myself. She has proven that veteran teachers can still put 110% into their jobs to make their classroom environment an ideal space for all students at all learning levels. Her energy, positivity, and enthusiasm inspires me everyday to be a better teacher.”

Fellow Lake Placid Elementary School teacher Amy Kramer, who has taught fourth grade alongside Smith for the past nine years, wrote that she has seen her impact both from a nearby classroom, and from those who spent time in Smith’s classroom.

“Each year she proves to be an incredible educator and colleague,” she wrote. “She is constantly trying to improve her skills and be a better Science and Social Studies teacher for the students of Lake Placid. Both my own son and daughter were lucky enough to have Mrs. Smith as a teacher and were awarded with life long skills and a thirst for knowledge.”

Smith still organizes all of the grade’s field trips, and has been involved in a number of after-school programs over the years. These include the school’s Newspaper Club, Science Club, as well as the school’s annual History Fair, where students work in groups to set up presentation tables on a local artifact brought in by one of the area’s historical societies.

Smith said she particularly enjoys the History Fair because it helps kids to develop a sense of connection to their local area, and lets them practice their presentation skills in a relatively stress-free environment. Rather than getting up in front of the whole class, setting up a bunch of tables and having people walk through the event at their own pace makes it easier for the kids to present.

“All of the kids shine and they get really excited,” Smith said.

Smith said she was first drawn to teaching at a young age. Her mother was a teacher, and Smith, as a young kid, said she loved going through and highlighting her instructional books and ‘pretend grading’ using her mother’s assignment books.

Despite this, her path to the classroom wasn’t straightforward. She majored in economics and marketing in her undergraduate education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst before working for a time business. She eventually moved back to Lake Placid, where the desire to become a teacher began to grow on her.

“I just started to think, you know, ‘Why am I not a teacher?'” Smith said.

She went back to school and earned a master’s degree in education from SUNY Plattsburgh. She worked at St. Bernard’s School in Saranac Lake for a time before being hired at the Lake Placid Elementary School. She has taught at the fourth-grade level the entire time she has been at Lake Placid — an age level she said is a perfect fit for her.

“They’re still so eager to learn,” she said. “They’re helpful with their peers. They’re willing to try new things. They’re not embarrassed or think, ‘this would be stupid to try this dance’ if I tell everybody to get up we’re going to do this little dance to go with this song.”

Retirement is around the corner for Smith, who said next year will be her last as a full-time teacher. While she said she still loves coming into the classroom every day, she is excited for the new opportunities that retirement brings. She said she plans on travelling and spending more time with her elderly father, who lives in North Carolina.

Smith said her current plan is to take a full year off to recharge her battery, before stepping back into education in some capacity, although she is not sure exactly what that will be yet.

“I’m really interested in history,” she said. “I like museums and historical societies.”

Smith said she plans to stay in the area in her retirement, perhaps going to warmer places during some of the winter months as she gets older. For now, though, Smith said finishing strong remains her main focus.

“Through it all, you come in each morning and your children are here and you close the door and you get to teach,” she said. “It’s a wonderful profession.”

To vote for Smith, visit tinyurl.com/2548hvk7. People can cast one free vote every 24 hours through 4 p.m. Thursday, March 6. The competition is part of a fundraiser for the Planetary Society — a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing space science and exploration. For more information on the group’s work, visit planetary.org/about.

There are several rounds of voting. The eventual winner of America’s Favorite Teacher receives a $25,000 prize, trip to Hawaii, article in Reader’s Digest and classroom visit from Bill Nye the Science Guy, who currently serves as the Planetary Society’s CEO. People can cast additional votes by donating money to the group if they would like, although no donation is required for the first vote each day.