LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Shelley Vignola

Position: Retiring Art and Academic Teacher
School: St. George Elementary School
School District: Charlton County School District
City, State: St. George, GA

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Music that Describes Shelley

Shelley Vignola was nominated by her colleague, Andrea Canaday.

Ms. Vignola has been a teacher at St. George Elementary School for 29 years. She would get up early each day and drive an hour to St. George because she loved where she worked. She taught Kindergarten for many years and was a wonderful mentor teacher who was always able to share what she had learned with other new teachers.

Ms. Vignola was never afraid to come back to school the next day and apologize to a student if she felt she was too harsh or not fair with them. She never gave up on a student. Instead, she was always looking for new ways to help them flourish in the classroom.

Ms. Vignola's love has always been art, and she was able to teach it for the last several years. She worked in a low socio-economic Title 1 school, and there weren't a lot of resource classes provided to students. She took her art class to another level, where the students were able to learn about where a particular piece of artwork originated and try to do it themselves. Towards the end of the year, she would have an art show that featured some of the pieces her school's students had created that year. She would have a judge come and rate the pieces for each grade and award ribbons to all the winning pieces. The parents would get to walk through the art show with their child and see the beautiful pieces they had created.

Ms. Vignola was also a leader outside of the classroom. Every year, she led a baton twirling group called The Starlight Twirlers. She did this for K-6 grades and never charged for lessons. She would have a beginners group and an older group perform in parades, at school and in competitions. The girls have absolutely enjoyed this, and it has made such a positive difference in their lives because they were led to believe in themselves and learned to work as a team. These girls live in a very rural community where there aren't any other extracurricular activities available.

Ms. Vignola has held leadership positions at St. George Elementary on the School Improvement Plan and PBIS team. She also ran the morning school news for several years.

Overall, Ms. Vignola is a very caring, compassionate person who was always willing to step up and help where needed. If she got moved to teach another grade, she never complained and always did the best for her students. She would go the extra mile for her students and loved to help them reach their goals in and out of the classroom. Many of her former students who have graduated from high school and college come back to her and tell her how much of an effect she made on their lives.

"People always say that you don't go into teaching for the money," said Canaday. "Shelley was truly an example of a person that wasn't there for the money, but to invest in the lives of young people. Though there were jobs closer to where she lived, she enjoyed working at SGE because the school was smaller, and you really got to know the students and staff on a more personal level. She loved this family feeling, and she went out of her way to show this school family just how much she loved and cared for them!"

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Comments (9)

Amanda Matti Posted over a year ago

Shelley Vignola has been an inspiration to me as long as I can remember. She is one of the most compassionate and gentle-hearted people on this planet. Shelley's commitment to her students over the years is amazing and this is evidenced by her willingness to drive 50 miles to St. George, GA every day to teach "her kids". Shelley always greeted her students with a smile and a happy greeting, "Hey Sweetie, How are you doing today?". Her students thrived with her gentle manner and compassionate nature. She taught because that is what she was called to do. She will tell you, since she was a little girl, she was going to grow up and be a teacher. Not only was she committed to her students, she was committed to the success of her school. When a need was evident, Shelley would jump in regardless of the task. Whether it was organizing "Red Ribbon Week" or arranging field trips to Fort Clinch, or helping with the Fall Festivals, organizing events for "Teacher's Appreciation Week", Testing her students, Working on ELA.... you name it, Shelley did it. She would also organize Art Shows to display the works of her students and hire out-of-state judges to minimalize bias and would pay out of her own pocket to make sure it was a success. Shelley always wanted her students to be proud of something they had accomplished. Shelley knows that when a child is proud of something they have done, it helps them build confidence to try other new things and move forward to excel in other endeavors. St. George is in a very rural area and there aren't many activities for the children who live in the area, so Shelley also ran baton twirling classes after school. She not only taught her students how to twirl, but also taught them important life lessons of perseverance, dedication, hard work and practice. She took her students to multiple competitions and won multiple awards in every competition. Her girls looked forward to twirling and going to contests and when the year ended, there was always a small degree of disappointment until the next year started up again. Shelley was always available to her students and loved them dearly. Her knowledge is outstanding and her kids certainly benefited from her teachings. Shelley taught more than reading, writing and arithmetic. She taught life lessons that each student could take with them once leaving her classroom. Today, her student's children have come through Shelley's class and every student is absolutely thrilled when they hear that their own former teacher will be teaching their own children. I strive to be as generous, good and compassionate as Mrs. Vignola in my own life as I have watched her students grow and flourish under her tutelage. One day, I hope to accomplish that goal, but I have a little ways to go.

Casey Jones Posted over a year ago

Mrs. Vignola has taught three of my children and I regret that she will not be able to teach my two girls when they are able to attend SGHS. SGHS is a very small rural school but I have never been concerned that the quality or education would be comprised. Shelly has that special ability to challenge and bring out the absolute best in all of her students and that will be dearly missed.

Valerie Johnson Posted over a year ago

Mrs. Vignola has been a blessing to me during my first five years of teaching. I've often been amazed by her as she taught my students not just how to create art, but the history of the artists and their techniques. The ways that she took children with emotional issues and helped them use art as their medium of expression was simply amazing. I also had the opportunity to share the joys of Fifth Grade ELA with her one year. I learned much from her. Regardless of what she was teaching, she has been so uplifting and has inspired confidence in me as a teacher. Saint George Elementary will not be the same without her.

Sherron Dearing Posted over a year ago

Shelley has been a blessing to all who know her. She is a great teacher and loves all the students, most have grown up now and they often come back to see her. She is one of God's true helpers. She is a very loving person.

Tiffany Steele Posted over a year ago

Ms. Vignola truly cares for her students and the Starlight Twirlers. I will forever remember the parades and the competitions that she challenged us with every year. Before entering any other sport, she taught me how to trust my team and we were there to win. A lifelong lesson for anyone! We gained even more friends and a boost of confidence as we reached different levels at the competition. Ms. Vignola recognized talent and suggested solos for those who accepted. As more girls attended the team, she asked other teachers to be apart of the team which brought SGES even closer. Without her creation of the team, some of the girls wouldn’t have the opportunity to be a majorette in high school. I will forever be grateful of Ms. Vignola for teaching me the skill of twirling!

Carmen Jones Posted over a year ago

Mrs Vignola taught my very gifted and different thinking ADHD son throughout his elementary education. She saw deeper than every other teacher had! She saw past his unorganized and “messy” outer shell down into the deep thinker he really is! He was encouraged and inspired by her and she will be missed by so many!!

Amy Chancy Posted over a year ago

Mrs.Vignola is a very special person close to my heart. She helped through a really tough time and i’m sure she didn’t even know it. Mrs.Vignola taught Baton after school whenever I was in elementary school. From kindergarten all the way to six grade I went to almost every practice and put in my all every time. Well I wasn’t always like that. In fourth grade I’d lost my father to cancer and I had been struggling with getting out and doing every day things for awhile. Well that following year something’s changed, Mrs.Vignola asked if I was going to sign up and I remember thinking to myself maybe next year ,but after school that day something change maybe god, maybe my mind telling me i needed to get out, or whatever it was I went home and told my momma to sign me up that next day. After that i went to almost every practice and put my blood sweat and tears into baton. I wasn’t at home sitting in my room anymore I was focusing on routines and new tricks Mrs.Vignola had taught me. The point is Mrs.Vignola helped me and she didn’t even know it. She was a teacher, but to me she was so much more. Mrs.Vignola is the change that we need. She’s kind hearted, strict but loving, and an all around good teacher. She cares about her each of her students and for that she has helped me and so many others.

Elizabeth Gilliard Posted over a year ago

Mrs. Vignola has a special gift of seeing a student's potential and getting them there with compassion and understanding. She never gave up on a child and helped build their self confidence.

Hayley Gleaton Posted over a year ago

I was in the very first baron group. It was just two of us girls and she was an excellent teacher and so patient with us. She stirred a love for twirling in me and I went on to join the color guard team in high school, where I was captain for 3 years. I would never have tried out for something like that were it not for Mrs Vignola. She never taught me in school, because she was a kindergarten teacher, but as an adult I went back to the school I grew up in and taught 3rd grade for several years. Now I was her coworker and friend. I was able to help her teach baton after school and learn so many things from her. She is one of the funniest, kindest, hard working women I know. She gave so much of herself to SGE, they will miss her greatly.