SOMETHING SO MUCH BIGGER FOR EMILY GILREATH, FIRST GRADE TEACHER AT PLEASANT GROVE ELEMENTARY. THE LOVE SHE HAS FOR HER STUDENTS SPREADS FAR BEYOND THE CLASSROOM. ONE OF MANY EXAMPLES OF THIS RECENTLY WENT VIRAL IN THIS TIKTOK, GILREATH AND HER STUDENT BROOKLYNN WERE GETTING READY FOR THE SCHOOL SNEAKER BALL, SOMETHING BROOKLYNN ORIGINALLY DIDN’T THINK SHE’D BE ABLE TO ATTEND. ALL THE OTHER GIRLS WERE TALKING ABOUT THEIR DRESSES. THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT WHAT SHOES THEY WERE GOING TO WEAR, WHAT THEIR HAIR WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, AND IT JUST REALLY HURT BROOKLYNN’S FEELINGS BECAUSE SHE, HER MOM, HAD ALREADY TOLD HER THAT SHE HAD TO WORK THAT NIGHT, SO NOBODY WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO TAKE HER. I REALIZED THAT BROOKLYNN WAS UPSET ABOUT IT, AND SO I REACHED OUT TO HER MOM AND I ASKED HER, HEY, MISS COLEMAN. CAN I TAKE BROOKLYNN TO THE SNEAKER BALL? I’LL TAKE HER HOME. I’LL GET HER A DRESS. I’LL PAY FOR THE TICKET, DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT. AND THEN I’LL BRING HER BACK HOME. I DON’T WANT TO OVERSTEP. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE PLANS, YOU LET ME KNOW. BUT I WOULD LOVE TO TAKE HER. AND THEN HER MOM WAS LIKE, WELL, YES, MISS GARRETT, I WOULD LOVE THAT. I KNOW HOW MUCH BROOKLYNN WANTED TO GO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO, BROOKLYNN, STATE AFTER SCHOOL AND THEY GOT READY TOGETHER WHEN WE WERE SITTING AND WE WERE LIKE LOOKING AT OUR DRESSES IN THE MIRROR AND LIKE, PUTTING ON HER LIPSTICK. LIKE I HAD THOUGHT TO MYSELF. I WAS LIKE, I HOPE THAT BROOKLYNN REMEMBERS THIS FOREVER, BECAUSE I THINK I’M GOING TO REMEMBER IT FOREVER BECAUSE IT WAS JUST SUCH A SPECIAL MOMENT. AND SO KNOWING THAT I’M CREATING CORE MEMORIES FOR STUDENTS, FOR THEM TO FEEL SAFE WITH ME AS THEIR TEACHER MEANS A LOT TO ME. THESE MEANINGFUL MOMENTS, ACCORDING TO GILREATH, ARE PLENTIFUL AT HER SCHOOL AND ALL THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT. SHE AND HER FELLOW TEACHERS FREQUENTLY GOING THE EXTRA MILE FOR THEIR STUDENTS. I WAS SO COMFORTABLE BEING ABLE TO DO THINGS LIKE THAT BECAUSE I WAS SHOWN THINGS LIKE THAT MY FIRST YEAR, LIKE WITH THE OTHER TEACHERS, MY MENTOR TEACHER, MY PRINCIPAL, PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE AT THIS SCHOOL, LIKE THEY SHOWED ME THAT THEY GO THE EXTRA MILE FOR THE STUDENTS. SO IT WAS JUST A NORMAL THING FOR ME TO GO THE EXTRA MILE FOR
'I think I'm going to remember it forever': Elementary teacher goes extra mile for student
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Updated: 10:18 PM CDT May 17, 2025
For Emily Gilreath, first-grade teacher at Pleasant Grove Elementary in Alabama, the love she has for her students spreads far beyond the classroom.One of many examples of this recently went viral, where Gilreath was gifted $10,000 for Teacher Appreciation Week.In the TikTok you can see in the video above, Gilreath and her student, Brooklyn, were getting ready for the school's "Sneaker Ball," an event Brooklyn originally didn't think she'd be able to attend."All the other girls were talking about their dresses, they were talking about what shoes they were going to wear, what their hair was going to look like, and it just really hurt Brooklyn's feelings because her mom had already told her that she had to work that night, so nobody was going to be able to take her," Gilreath said.When she realized Brooklyn was upset, Gilreath reached out to the student's mom and offered to take her herself. Gilreath said Brooklyn's mom was thankful, knowing how much she wanted to go.With an exciting night ahead, Gilreath and Brooklyn stayed after school and got ready together."When we were sitting and we were looking at our dresses in the mirror and putting on our lipstick, I had thought to myself, I was like, 'I hope that Brooklyn remembers this forever, because I think I'm going to remember it forever,'" Gilreath said.These meaningful moments are plentiful at Pleasant Grove and throughout the Jefferson County School District, according to Gilreath. She and her fellow teachers are frequently going above and beyond for students."I was so comfortable being able to do things like that because I was shown things like that my first year," Gilreath said. "With the other teachers, my mentor teacher, my principal, people that are here at this school, they showed me that they go the extra mile for the students. So it was just a normal thing for me to go the extra mile for my student, because truly, everybody here at my school does do that."
For Emily Gilreath, first-grade teacher at Pleasant Grove Elementary in Alabama, the love she has for her students spreads far beyond the classroom.
One of many examples of this recently went viral, where Gilreath was gifted $10,000 for Teacher Appreciation Week.
In the TikTok you can see in the video above, Gilreath and her student, Brooklyn, were getting ready for the school's "Sneaker Ball," an event Brooklyn originally didn't think she'd be able to attend.
"All the other girls were talking about their dresses, they were talking about what shoes they were going to wear, what their hair was going to look like, and it just really hurt Brooklyn's feelings because her mom had already told her that she had to work that night, so nobody was going to be able to take her," Gilreath said.
When she realized Brooklyn was upset, Gilreath reached out to the student's mom and offered to take her herself. Gilreath said Brooklyn's mom was thankful, knowing how much she wanted to go.
With an exciting night ahead, Gilreath and Brooklyn stayed after school and got ready together.
"When we were sitting and we were looking at our dresses in the mirror and putting on our lipstick, I had thought to myself, I was like, 'I hope that Brooklyn remembers this forever, because I think I'm going to remember it forever,'" Gilreath said.
These meaningful moments are plentiful at Pleasant Grove and throughout the Jefferson County School District, according to Gilreath. She and her fellow teachers are frequently going above and beyond for students.
"I was so comfortable being able to do things like that because I was shown things like that my first year," Gilreath said. "With the other teachers, my mentor teacher, my principal, people that are here at this school, they showed me that they go the extra mile for the students. So it was just a normal thing for me to go the extra mile for my student, because truly, everybody here at my school does do that."
