Family tradition

Long before Reagan Bassett had a classroom of her own, she was making lesson plans, teaching her little sisters and decorating pretend bulletin boards.

Growing up as what she calls a “double teacher’s kid,” the Bobby Ray Memorial Elementary second-grade teacher had plenty of inspiration at home. Now in her fifth year teaching, Bassett has been named Week 5’s First National Bank Teacher of the Week by readers of the Main Street Journal, receiving 19 of the 456 votes cast.

“Both of my parents are teachers - my mom, Pre-K and my dad, high school - and I believe that’s a big part of the reason I’ve known since I was a little girl that I wanted to teach as well,” Bassett said.

Those childhood classroom games reflected a calling that stayed with her as she grew up.

“I’ve always loved everything about it and have been excited to grow up and get to have a classroom of my own,” she said.

All five of Bassett’s years teaching have been spent in second grade at Bobby Ray, where she also works in the 21st Century after-school program. Before moving into the classroom as a teacher, she spent a little more than a year as a teaching assistant.

Bassett attended Motlow before continuing her education at Tennessee Tech, completing her bachelor’s degree through the Grow Your Own Program while working in the school as a teaching assistant.

“This is my fifth year teaching, and I fall more in love with it every year,” she said.

Family remains central to her life, both at home and at school. Bassett grew up on a family farm in Morrison, where she and her family still live. She and her husband, Christopher, have a son, Weston.

“My family is so important to me, and getting to live so close to most of them is so special,” she said.

At Bobby Ray, those family connections continue. Bassett works alongside her mother and her sister-in-law, the school’s bookkeeper.

For Bassett, the greatest reward in teaching comes from the connections she builds with her students and the confidence she sees develop as they learn.

“To me, the most rewarding part of being a teacher is building relationships with students and being someone who they know is proud of them and believes in them,” she said. “It is so special when students from previous years still make time to stop by my room and say hello, tell me about their accomplishments!”

Her own memories of second grade help shape what she hopes to give the children in her classroom.

“I still remember to this day how fun and memorable my second-grade teacher made school, and I hope to be able to be the same teacher for my students - one they can look back on and be reminded of fun memories knowing I cared about them,” Bassett said.

The First National Bank Teacher of the Week contest is presented by First National Bank of Middle Tennessee, with support from Smooth Rapids, Diamond Jewelry Company, Phillips Sales and Service and Graves Family Pharmacy.

Voting opens each Tuesday at midnight and continues through Monday at 11:59 p.m. Readers may vote once per hour per email address. Weekly winners are removed from subsequent ballots and become eligible for the Teacher of the Year contest in the spring.

Cast your vote here: