Golden Apple Award: Hardy Elementary Sarah Tortora

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WDEF) – Music has to power transform us. It’s a subject that Sarah Tortora is passionate about. She shares that passion with more than 400 students at Hardy Elementary.

Robin Bambrey is the Principal at Hardy.

She says, “Miss Tortora is our music teacher here at Hardy elementary school. She serves all of our students, pre-K through fifth grade. She is the most fantastic music teacher, and we are blessed to have her. She spends so much time and energy into the kids and getting them to just love and enjoy music.”

When asked to describe herself, Sarah says, “I’m a K through five music teacher. I’ve graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and I have spent the last three years at Hardy elementary school. I love my job. I love teaching. I don’t think I’d be the teacher I am today without the kids that are here at Hardy.”

Luanda Harrold is a third grade teacher at Hardy.

About Ms. Tortora,  she says, “She is awesome! I love coming to her classroom just to talk to her in the morning time, or before school starts; just to see the engagements that kids have. She turns her classroom into a ocean underwater. I mean it is just amazing. Everything she does with her kids and she makes music fun.”

Sarah concludes, “Probably the fun and the joy that I feel that I am able to express with the kids, both for me and for what they give to me is probably the best part of my job, no matter what stage we are in or what ever we are doing, there is always joy to be had, and fun to be had in our classroom. I see them and a lot of different places. I’ve been able to see certain kids overcome obstacles and raise up, and I think moving forward, I will see these kids at universities. I will see these kids in our community having leadership positions, working on things that are their passion, and I think they are starting to see that they can achieve anything they want to. And I expect good things from these kids.