Photo submitted to Times Observer Tidioute Community Charter School ninth-grader Sophia Ricketts reads her statewide first place award winning essay at the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools Conference with PCPCS President Dr. Anne Clark.

A flashlight in a dark space.

A lifeguard in the rapids of life.

A rainbow after the rain.

Someone who is there when you need her.

Tidioute Community Charter School ninth-grader Sophia Ricketts described her teacher, Sara Robinson, in those terms in an award-winning essay.

Ricketts was awarded first place in the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools’ 2022 essay contest.

The contest was open to about 180 charter schools throughout the state.

Robinson wears several hats at the school – English language arts teacher, library media specialist, and financial literacy teacher

Ricketts and Robinson attended the recent PCPCS Conference where Ricketts read the winning essay on the topic – a charter school teacher who inspires me and why.

For winning, Ricketts earned $500, the trip to the conference, and a plaque for the school.

“This is the third year a TCCS student has been awarded first place in this contest and I am beyond honored to have been the subject of such a beautiful and heartfelt essay,” Robinson said.