Teacher Appreciation Week runs from Monday, May 4th through Friday, May 8, 2026.
Donna’s quinceañera (July 4, 2025).
As a student, I have come to realize that having a teacher who puts more than enough into teaching is like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. A teacher who cares and worries about their students like one of her own is such a wonderful feeling, especially as a high school student. Bonnie Preston is that educator at Procter R. Hug High School!
I asked Ms. Preston what made her want to start teaching—it is not a job that many investigate, so what pulled her into this? She responded, “I knew my teachers had a strong effect on me. They showed me a better way of life, and I know I could do that for my students—not just in education, but in life.”
It’s clear that she wanted to be the great teacher that she looked up to while in school, which is exactly what she is doing. She is a guiding light for students and many others, such as her assistant teacher, Mel Carrasco. She mentioned that “Bonnie has helped me a lot with learning to make students comfortable in a classroom… which is really important in our specific content area of health.”
With great teachers, comes great doubt. “My first year teaching I was an English teacher, and I was grading papers. It was a lot because I had 150 students and my daughter was very young. I had been grading everything; I was being so thorough… and that is when I realized ‘Okay, I can do this.’”
Few may know, but Preston has retired before, which led me to ask what convinced her to come back to teaching. She replied, “When I retired, I was going to take my college degree to Europe. I was going to teach in Europe for two years and on weekends, I’d be able to travel because they obviously had trains that connected to all those different countries. Then my father passed away, so I knew I was going to have to delay that trip… I heard that Hug needed three health teachers, so I tried it for a year and I love it here.”
Finally, when Ms. Mel was asked to describe Ms. Preston, she stated, “She’s a positive sunshine type of person. She is someone who, if you’re having a bad day, the minute she says ‘hello’ to you, you are automatically smiling back… I would say she is one of the most welcoming people I’ve ever met. No matter who you are, Bonnie Preston is always happy to see you and that really shines in a room.”
Thank you for all that you do to make our school a brighter place, Ms. Preston!
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