A Lewisville Independent School District elementary school is honoring a teacher who lost her battle with cancer two years ago by raising money for a scholarship in her name.
"Our team is very close," said Julie Dawes, a first grade teacher at Valley Ridge Elementary. "We take care of each other here."
"She was just a happy person," said Dawes of fellow teacher Ashley Sessions, choking back tears. "Lots of joy in her classroom, and when you have joy in the classroom you have learning in the classroom."
Sessions taught first grade at Valley Ridge for ten years. Former students said she was their inspiration.
"She was very nice. She had fun activities," said Cassidy Horton, who's now in fourth grade. "She was one of the best teachers."
In the summer of 2015, Ms. Sessions was diagnosed with cancer.
"She really believed she was going to fight hard until the end," said Dawes. "And she did."
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A fight which ended just over two years ago. Sessions passed away in February of 2016. She is survived by her husband, Mike, and their three children.
"It was sad," said Horton. "But it was also good because she didn't have to go through the pain any more."
To honor Ms. Sessions, the school created a scholarship. Fellow teachers said they didn't want to forget what an amazing teacher she was. Lewisville schools hope to raise $10,000 dollars through a fund-raising drive, the amount needed to make the Ashley Sessions scholarship permanent.
"It's good because Ms. Sessions was a good teacher and she should be remembered for a long time," said Kaiden Diglia, another former student.
Losing a team member hurts. At Valley Ridge, they lean on each other.
"We've been through a lot, so we do," said Dawes. "There's going to be a day when we don't teach together any more, but we'll still have each other."
If you would like to make a donation to the fund-raising drive, you can click here.
