CADIZ, Ky. (WTVF) — A beloved science teacher has died from COVID-19, and the Trigg County community is mourning.
Trigg County High School science teacher, Mrs. Simone Parker, lost her fight with COVID-19 after nearly two decades serving students in this community. Parker was 46-years-old. "She was definitely a light and a positive impact on many lives," Shannon Burcham said.
She attended high school there and came back to teach in her hometown according to the Trigg County High School Principal. "She was someone that you would want your child to be educated by," Burcham said, "She would do and go beyond expectations to meet the needs of all children."
She helped plan trips, developed a scholarship program, and was active in an organization that helped students. "Doesn’t matter where they’re from, what their background is, she loved every single kid that walked through these doors," Burcham said.
Superintendent Bill Thorpe said teachers in Kentucky will have the opportunity to get vaccinated soon. Due to community spread, they're currently learning virtually. "We have followed the school safety guidelines that we have received," Thorpe said, "We should be getting it sometime in January, at the latest early February, is what we were told."
In the meantime, they're going to do everything they can to honor Mrs. Parker's legacy. "She’s an example of what you would want in an educator," Burcham said, "From our staff’s children that would come in with them in the morning, to the kids that were here, and have left us over the last 20 years, you go on any social media, and you look up Simone Parker and you’re going to see lots of positive comments about her."
At the end of the school day, she would say: “Be good, be careful, and come back to me tomorrow.”
"We wish she could be here tomorrow, her spirit will be here," Burcham said.
Due to the influx of cases, the Trigg County school district has been virtual, but they're switching to a hybrid schedule Jan. 11. In addition, they have support services available for students who are grieving during this time.
