WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A third-grade teacher at Fowler Elementary School was presented the 2022-2023 Dorothy Huffman Award in a surprise ceremony Friday.

Brianna Fisher received the award, which is given every year to a dedicated third-grade teacher in honor of Dorothy Moser Huffman. Huffman served as a Wichita Falls ISD teacher for 38 long years and always believed that the third grade was a crucial learning time for children.

Fowler Elementary Principal Alex Martin said that Fisher’s love for learning and teaching is evident when you walk into her safe and loving classroom environment in which all students can learn.

Brianna Fisher grew up here in Wichita Falls and graduated from Texas State University in 2019 before returning to teach.

While Fisher has been teaching for four years, her first year was the Covid-19 pandemic school year of 2019-2020, so she feels that throughout her entire career, she’s never had a normal year of teaching.

Due to changes resulting from Covid guidelines, she had to expand from teaching only reading to also teaching math, which meant that she had to learn how to teach math while also teaching her students math. 

“I’m really blessed and thankful because it’s one of those things, you know?” Fisher said. “We have teacher appreciation week, and we have kids that give us little notes and little pictures that they draw for us, but sometimes, you need a little extra to know that what you’re doing, you’re in the right place. You’re in a place for a reason, no matter where you are.”

Even through unusual circumstances, Fisher said she really, really likes teaching and ultimately enjoys the challenges that come with it.

Fisher said she’s one of those teachers who really loves to educate her kiddos and plans to use the award money for her classroom.