DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Palm Terrace Elementary teacher Mrs. Patricia Troutman on Monday happily accepted the key to the city by Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry.
“You have opened our hearts and for opening our hearts, we want to present to you the key to the city of Daytona Beach,” Henry said.
Henry, along with the entire school, and district leaders, surprised Troutman with a pep rally after serving 50 years as a teacher in Volusia County.
“I want all of you to know that this is the first time, even though I’ve been around for 37 years, that I had the opportunity to actually see a teacher that has spent 50 years of her life, her heart and her soul to children,” Volusia County Schools Board Chair Jaime Haynes said.
Troutman teaches second grade and has been working at the school since it opened in 1992, but her career in the district started in 1973.
She’s not the only educator in her family. Her sister was a teacher, her husband just retired from maintenance at the school district and her boss is her own niece.
“It runs in the family! Yes, education is deeply invested within the family, and we look up to her and other family members,” Principal Karen Troutman said.
But beyond education, Troutman said it’s about giving love and receiving it back from the little ones.
“Some days are good, some days are not but the best part is to love. Love one another and to show your love to the children,” Troutman said.
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