• Aprill Brandon •
• Originally published January 16, 2009 at midnight, updated January 16, 2009 at midnight

Howell Middle School teacher Leslee Graham woke up Thursday morning thinking it was going to be just another day. By 10 a.m., however, she was $1,000 richer and finally getting some thanks for an often thankless job.

Graham was the recipient of Wal-Mart's Teacher of the Year Award. A sixth-grade English teacher, Graham was surprised at school by her principal, fellow teachers, parents, daughter and Victoria Wal-Mart store manager Sam Sanchez. She received a $1,000 check, a $100 Wal-Mart gift card and a Wal-Mart recyclable bag full of goodies.

"I don't know what to say. I'm having a hard time breathing," Graham said as people filed past to congratulate her.

"Teachers work so hard, you know? They deserve an award," Sanchez said.

Graham was nominated by her students for the honor. Although her sixth-grade daughter, Allyson Graham, doesn't have her mom for a teacher, she said she knows how hard Graham works and thinks the award was well deserved.

"Yes! She definitely deserves it," Allyson said. "There's been times when she's come home after a bad day. She's been through a lot, but she's still awesome."

Graham's boss agrees.

"She's a phenomenal teacher. She's very compassionate and has a lot of passion for what she does," Howell principal Debbie Crick said. "Even her colleagues will say how much she drives them to do their best."

As a working mom, Graham said she decided to go into teaching because she thought it would be the best job to have.

"I love kids. I'm very child-centered," she said.

• NATIONWIDE

  Howell Middle School teacher Leslee Graham is just one of 30,000 teachers across the nation that receives this annual award from Wal-Mart.

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