Having attended small schools growing up, at San Saba and later graduating from Richland Springs, Brookesmith ISD kindergarten and pre-kindergarten teacher Angie Bradley can’t imagine herself working in any other environment.

“It’s so much fun to teach in a small school, it’s like a little family,” Bradley said. “It’s such a little blessing for me to teach kindergarten and pre-K because I get them for two years and it’s hard to let them go, you get attached. But they come back to see you in a small school and you get hugs from them all the time because you taught them and watched them grow up.”

Bradley’s passion for teaching began at an early age, and before graduating high school she knew what career path she would pursue.

“I wanted to be a teacher since I was very little,” Bradley said. I had a lot of wonderful teachers growing up. Miss Schulte in San Saba, Miss Maxfield, my fourth grade teacher at San Saba who I loved, and Melody Smith at Richland Springs was phenomenal and an amazing teacher. But it was in high school when I knew for sure I wanted to teach.”

After graduating from Richland Springs and later Howard Payne University, Bradley began her stint at Brookesmith in 2006.

“I love little children, and I love teaching them to read,” Bradley said in regard to the most rewarding aspect of her job. “They come to me not being able to read and they leave being able to and that’s amazing to me. That’s my favorite part. I always look forward to going to school, excited to see my kids, because every day is fun.”

Watching students develop from the ages of 4 and 5 until they’re 18 is another aspect of the job Bradley relishes.

“It’s very rewarding,” Bradley said. “I’m excited that I get to be their first teacher and I always think they’re pretty perfect.”

She and her husband Jim Bob Bradley, a Brookesmith graduate who works at 3M, have two children – daughter Sharon Beth, who graduated from Brookesmith and currently attends HPU, where she will be a cheerleader next year; and Caleb, their 16-year-old son who attends Brookesmith.

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BrownwoodNews.com will highlight one Brown County educator per day in the month of July, based on nominations received on our Facebook page, for our Teacher Feature series.