CARENCRO, La. (KLFY)-- A Pre-K teacher at Carencro Bob Lilly Elementary finds herself in the quarter-finals for America’s Favorite Teacher. The winner can appear in Reader’s Digest, get a trip to Hawaii and take home $25,000. 

“It doesn't really feel quite real yet. You know, when I first started, it was quite a while ago and so to be this far into it, it's starting to get a little nervous. Starting to feel a little bit more real. Just hope to make it to the end,” Kellie Chitty said. 

Chitty said the experience felt heartwarming as she received support from friends, family and even people she didn’t know. 

“People that I haven't seen since I was in high school. It just really meant a lot to have so much support,” she said. “It’s been going on for almost a month now and it's going to go on until June. So to have so many people to the point that they're setting alarms to vote for me, I truly appreciate it.” 

Chitty told News 10 she has been teaching for 16 years; she spends most of her time in Pre-K classrooms and mostly with ESL (English as a Second Language) students.

“It's their first experience of school," Chitty said. "A lot of them do not speak English, so it can be very scary for them. So getting the chance to be their first experience in school and helping them and seeing the growth that they make in a full year. This point of the year is probably one of my favorite points of the year because I get to see where they're at from start to finish and just the progress they made overall."

The Pre-K teacher comes from a generation of teachers as her mother and grandmother were teachers.

“Of course, I said I was not going to be a teacher," Chitty said.

However, once she decided to give it a try and landed a position as a Pre-K instructor, she realized that was the place for her. 

“I can really just help to impact these kids from a young age,” she said. 

The Pre-K teacher highlighted the importance of giving her students a lot of real-life experiences. One instance, Chitty said, was by exposing her students to the culture in Louisiana. 

“Recently this year, we had a Courir Des Mardi Gras, and one of our coworkers dressed up like a chicken so that they could do a chicken run of their own,” Chitty said. “Just really fun to have them act that out and to get all my coworkers to collaborate on it. It's just a great experience and it's things that they will remember forever. Some of them have never experienced Mardi Gras before or they only experience one type of Mardi Gras. So it gives them a chance to experience something new that they may never experience again.” 

Lastly, Chitty would like to thank the second-grade student who was her ‘hype girl’ and told her she was deserving of being featured on News 10.

“I really appreciate her and I look forward to seeing her grow up to be a great inspirational speaker," Chitty said.

Chitty needs to place first in the quarter-finals so she can advance to the semifinals. Voting ends May 16. To cast your vote for America's Favorite Teacher, click here. 

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