'Today' show honors Plainedge kindergarten teacher Morgan Flanagan; her John H. West Elementary School students are there
NBC’s The Today Show selected John H. West Elementary Kindergarten teacher Miss Morgan Flanagan for a special national spotlight during teacher appreciation week. She is shown during a live taping on May 6. Credit: Plainedge School District
A Plainedge kindergarten teacher and her class visited the homes of millions of Americans through their television screens on Thursday as part of a "Today" show segment marking this year’s national teacher appreciation week.
Morgan Flanagan and her John H. West Elementary School students embarked on a field trip to Rockefeller Plaza to draw pictures and write sentences alongside anchors of the NBC morning program in a makeshift outdoor kindergarten classroom.
The appearance, Flanagan said, is thanks to Sarah Fugina, a district parent who answered the "Today" show’s call for teachers to come on the program for this year’s national teacher appreciation week. Fugina told Newsday Flanagan "completely transformed" her daughter Mila who used to shy away from the spotlight.
"Children who once entered her classroom shy or unsure quickly find their voices because of her warmth, patience, and encouragement," Fugina wrote in her email to "Today" nominating Flanagan. "She creates an environment where learning is joyful, exciting, and safe, a place where children truly want to be. Her enthusiasm for teaching is unmistakable."
Appearing on a national platform to represent the work teachers do "was the most incredible experience," Flanagan told Newsday on Friday.
"It was so humbling knowing that a parent thinks so highly of me that they went out of their way to nominate me, and that the ‘Today’ show also saw something in me that they wanted to share with the country," Flanagan, 29, of Nesconset, said. "Getting to bring my students with me was such a joy, and seeing how excited they were was just such a great reminder of why I do what I do every single day."
Among Thursday's highlights, Flanagan said, was her students singing a song about the weather with NBC meteorologist Dylan Dreyer. But "the cherry on top" was the surprise appearance by her kindergarten teacher, Tiffany Little, who gave her a hug and a bouquet of flowers live on air. Little still teaches kindergarten at North Massapequa's Eastplain Elementary School, where she left a lasting impression on Flanagan.
"I was afraid to go to kindergarten, I missed my mom, and I remember how extremely loving and comforting she was," Flanagan said of Little. "Now I try to be that person for my students, I comfort them when they're having a tough day ... and just try to be there for them on top of teaching them."
Flanagan considers her "Today" show appearance and her chance to "give back" to the district that raised her a "full circle" experience. When her students sat crisscrossed applesauce before "Today" anchor Carson Daly and thrust their arms up at his question "By a show of hands, who loves Ms. Flanagan?" at least one child appeared destined for a similar course.
"She pays attention to us," a young girl told Daly during the 10-minute segment. She added: "When I grow up, I want to be a teacher so I can be in the school and see her [Flanagan] all day too."
