By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A dedication to connecting with her students and a love for teaching them to live healthier lives led to Valley Elementary School physical education teacher Ginger Aaron’s selection as the Alabaster-Pelham Rotary Club’s Teacher of the Month for December.

The Rotary Club presented Aaron with a plaque and a $250 check to use at the school during its Jan. 17 meeting at Shelby Baptist Medical Center.

During the lunch, Aaron’s fellow PE teacher, Susan Jackson, said Aaron has been teaching at the school for 12 years, and is well-liked by her students.

“She sees more than 300 kids a day, and she takes the time to know about them and she teaches them things to help them have a healthy life and to be involved in the community,” Jackson said, noting Aaron is a nationally certified teacher who has been named the Shelby County Teacher of the Year and the State Physical Education Teacher of the Year. “It’s my honor and privilege to work with her every day.”

Aaron said she was inspired to teach because she had “really great” teachers when she was in school, and said her father helped instill in her a hard work ethic.

“My teachers instilled qualities a good student would want to have. They taught me to be a good person,” Aaron said. “My father had a very hard work ethic. He expected the best grades that were achievable for me.”

Aaron said she originally wanted to be a math or history teacher, but decided to pursue a physical education career after attending an informational meeting while attending the University of Montevallo. She said she planned to teach high school-aged students until she interned at VES.

“I consider teaching a blessing that I get to do every day,” Aaron said.