Smedley Elementary School students received a special dedication outside the school from a former longtime teacher on Wednesday afternoon — a Little Library.
“I’ve been here most of my years,” said Stacey Sopher, the former teacher at the school who recently dedicated the Little Library to all past, present and future students of the school. “It’s something for me to leave behind. It also gives a reason for me to visit every few months.”
“The most valuable investment of time is to sit down and read with a child.”
Sopher, who taught at the school for about 20 years, put a variety of books in the Little Library, including a few books about autumn.
Students may take the books home with them to keep, but she requested the students to bring a book back to replace the one they take home.
“I wasn’t entirely surprised because she’s always been giving and compassionate,” Principal Anne Curran said when she learned Sopher would dedicate the library to the school. “She’ll always be a part of the Smedley family.”
During the dedication ceremony, Curran told Sopher that her “legacy is going to live on through the joy of reading.”
