Class Hero: Lisa Oni from Prairie Norton Elementary School

Columbus, Ohio – Lisa Oni spends her days surrounded by the cutest kindergarten children who are also, incidentally, very, very busy.

“I still love it as much as I did the first year,” she said.

And that first year was 30 years ago, they all went to the Southwest City School. In fact, Oney also attended school in the area. And she pays tribute to one of her elementary school teachers for inspiring her desire to pursue an education as a career.

And Oney hasn’t looked back since, often keeping in touch with her students long after they walked out of her classroom door for the last time.

“I just love seeing them like this little, tiny piece of what I did, I guess this seed I planted turns into this tree,” she said.

Seeing her mom’s dedication to her work and her students inspired Olivia Oni. At one point she also thought of becoming a teacher, even playing with a white board in her room.

“As a teacher, I feel like she’s very much like she’s like a mom because I’ve heard her talk about her students as if they were her own children,” she said.

This is just one of the reasons why she decided that her mother deserves the title of Hero in the classroom.

“I work from home, so I had news while I was working, and I heard them say, nominate someone for a class hero, and my mom was perfect,” she said. “I think if anyone is the epitome of a class hero, it’s my mom.”

And she gives her mother extra credit for fighting the pandemic, which of course was not easy when trying 5-year-olds to engage online. Olivia Oni said all the teachers deserve credit for perseverance and could use that extra shout. Her mom agrees.

“COVID has been very difficult, especially with the pupils of the kindergartens, and it’s just a small, tiny elevator that I needed to continue,” she said.

Every week at Wake Up CBUS a class hero will be featured. You can to single out teachers, coaches or any employee who has an impact.

on the topic: Choose your “Class Hero”