Tyler Haggard, a physical education aide at Cooper Elementary school, loves being around kids. Haggard has been named the school's classified staff member of the year.
In addition to being a PE aide, he has a few classes of his own. He said all the students have PE every day, and the PE instructors get to build a good relationship with them.
"We're the only elementary school in (the Bentonville School District) that has PE every day with every class," he said. "It's really, really awesome to me because you get to build relationships with every kid. We're a PE 4 Life school."
This is Haggard's third year of working at Cooper, and it is his first job out of college. He attended the University of Arkansas where he majored in kinesiology, focusing on K-12 physical education. He was born and raised in this area, attending Bentonville High School, where he played football and baseball.
He did his student teaching at Bright Field School under Shawn Holland and also at Fullbright Junior High School, which is also a PE 4 Life school. At Fullbright, he worked under Mike Nelson and Brian Ward. He was also an assistant coach for Brian Ward for the boys' basketball team, something he is still doing, he said.
"I was lucky to have some of these mentors coming along to pave the way for me," he said.
He also said of his current job, "Donna Lewis and Ashlee Lunsford -- they're amazing PE teachers. I've learned so much from them."
Three years ago when he got the job at Cooper, he was working at a sporting goods store, he said.
"It was pretty great," he said. "It was late in the summer, too. I didn't know what I was going to end up doing."
Why did he go into this field?
"There's just something about elementary. I just enjoy kids," he said. "They're so pure, honest. You know what you're getting. I really enjoy the kids. That's why I'm there. It's really rewarding and I enjoy building a relationship with them."
When he found out he was classified staff member of the year, it was during a once-a-month assembly called the Cooper Roundup. He said Principal Chad Mims and Assistant Principal Rachel Manus announced it, and it really surprised him.
"I was really honored," he said. "They usually give flowers to the teacher of the year and the staff member of the year, but Mr. Mims' wife made a bouquet of candy for me, which I thought was really thoughtful."
During this time that school is closed due to the covid-19 outbreak, Haggard said he has been trying to stay outside a lot and stay busy. He has been fishing and golfing a lot and spending time with his dog. He has also joined the teachers on their Google Meets, which are online meetings with their students.
"I've seen a lot of the kids' animals, a lot of the kids' toys. That's what I've really enjoyed is seeing those kids. It's kind of like a show-and-tell for them."
He added, "It's been interesting. They've done such a great job. We try to reach every kid. But it's hard to reach every kid. That's why I've tried to join the Google Meets just to say 'hi.' It brightens up my day, and I hope it brightens up their day."
General News on 05/20/2020