Chelsea Larkin, left, receives the inaugural PLAIDS Award, which was presented by TLCSD Superintendent Jaycee Welsh, right, at the school board meeting on Thursday held in the L.P. Quinn Elementary School’s library.
(Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)
TUPPER LAKE — Chelsea Larkin, a fourth-grade math teacher at L.P. Quinn Elementary School, was named as the first recipient of the Tupper Lake Central School District’s PLAIDS Award.
PLAIDS, which stands for Proud Lumberjack Adult who Ignites Drive in Students, is a new award recognizing exceptionally driven Tupper Lake faculty or staff members. Nominations are made by colleagues, who ultimately choose the winner as well.
“We have many awards for student recognition,” TLCSD Superintendent Jaycee Welsh said. “And we decided to implement something that recognized the adults in our district who do wonderful things.”
Welsh shared several comments from Larkin’s colleagues that propelled her nomination to the top. These included valuing students’ voices in the classroom, professionalism and professional growth, as well as commitments to empathy, trust and compassion for her students.
In reading one comment, Welsh said it demonstrated not just an attitude that was deserving of the recognition, but it was a testament to Larkin’s longtime day in and day out commitment to these standards.
“Chelsea is the perfect example of coming to school each day with a positive attitude,” Welsh said. “She comes in ready to help her students and colleagues and is always quick to share any insight or knowledge.”
L.P. Quinn Elementary Principal Elizabeth Littlefield wrote that the school is “beyond lucky to have Chelsea.”
Larkin was “honored and flattered” to receive the award, and she said it meant a lot to her that the recognition was earned as a result of her colleagues’ nominating her. She thanked Bridget Brown, who she said has been a mentor to her since beginning teaching, as well as other team members that she has worked with in teaching the same grade levels.
“They’ve taught me a lot and helped me become the teacher that I am,” she said.
Larkin said her favorite thing about teaching fourth graders is the balance students have between being old enough to be independent-minded, while being young enough to brim with excitement about coming to school.
“It’s a great age,” she said. “I love teaching them.”
Larkin has wanted to be a teacher “pretty much” her whole life — stretching back to when she was a student in elementary school.
“As I went through college, I subbed a lot at school,” she said. “I was just like, ‘OK, I love this. I love kids and I love teaching in general.’”
Larkin is the daughter of Cindy and Tim Larkin, both of Tupper Lake. Tim said that growing up, Chelsea had a personality that fit perfectly with teaching.
“Even from a young age, she was always helping out other kids with stuff,” he said.
Cindy said that as she raised Chelsea, she worked to instill a sense of kindness, patience and just “being a good person” — all qualities that make for a positive classroom experience for students.
“She just really has a way with kids, and teaching was something that I think she knew she wanted to do,” Cindy said. She added that being a lifelong Tupper Laker has helped Chelsea to form strong community connections with colleagues and families of many of her students.
