Supporting her students on a personal and emotional level is one way Carol Leafblad excels in her role as a kindergarten teacher at Madison Elementary School.

“I feel like I belong to a special club when I tell other parents that my kids had Mrs. Leafblad as a teacher,” said Kelli Hammond, one of three individuals to nominate Carol for an Above & Beyond Award this year. “She’s come to my son’s baseball games for three years in a row.”

Every year Carol creates a memory book for each of her students, which includes their personal work and pictures of events from the school year. Years later, when Carol is invited to graduation parties for her former students, she sees the books on display. And it’s that kind of interaction that affirms she’s teaching her students the right way, she said. “I am in this field to make a difference in the lives of children and their families,” Carol said.

Outside her classroom, Carol is a positive role model to the kindergarten team, having served as a mentor teacher over the years, the grade-level teacher leader at the school, and participant in the building leadership team. She’s also the school’s resident “tooth puller.”

“She is a great example of the ideal teacher,” said fellow teacher Michelle Jund, who also nominated Carol. “Her enthusiasm for her job, her students and their parents, and her school is infectious and a driving force that inspires others at Madison as well.”