In her 45 years of teaching—much of it at Gloucester County Public Schools—Wyvonnia “Bunny” Carter has seen a lot. But one thing has remained constant—the best way to reach students is to show them you care for and support them.

The longtime teacher began her career in 1975 at Essex Intermediate School and retired at the end of the 2019-2020 school year at Page Middle School. In between, she taught at Gloucester Intermediate and Peasley Middle schools.

During her career, Carter said, she followed the words of Eleanor Roosevelt: “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” It’s the same wisdom she gives young teachers today.

Carter remembers one student she had early in her career. He had special needs and struggled to make passing grades. She said he was often teased by other children when they would get their grades back. Though he insisted that he didn’t care what his grade was, Carter knew she had to help.

She began to meet with the student to te...