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Kieffer chosen as RES parent of the month
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Tracy Kieffer, joined by her son Will, was named the parent of the month for May at Rincon Elementary School. - photo by Photo provided

The award for Rincon Elementary’s May Parent of the Month has been given to Tracy Kieffer. Kieffer is the mother of two children, Will, a kindergarten student at RES, and Grace, a sixth grader at Ebenezer Middle School.

Kieffer was nominated for this award by the kindergarten teachers at Rincon Elementary. Will’s teacher, Melissa McLaurin, said Mrs. Kieffer has exhibited great parenting skills with her children. She works with her children to make sure all of their needs are met, be it social, academic or emotional. She is a proponent of structure, consistency and organization and those attributes have helped her overcome some challenges she has had to face.

Kieffer said their family of four enjoyed being together and traveling in their RV. She said her strongest parenting traits were being “consistent and structured with her children,” and admitting to her mistakes and trying to learn from them. She believes it is “her duty as a parent to instill discipline and responsibility in them so that they can become successful adults one day.”

Recently, she said that one of her proudest moments came when her daughter entered middle school and began to choose healthy friendships based on their family’s values. Trying to maintain consistency with her children has not been easy, and she admits that has been her biggest parenting mistake. She said she “regrets taking the easy way out when I could have gone the extra mile to be consistent.” She shared that Will is a special needs child, and all of his pediatric specialists gave her some lifelong sound advice: “Be firm with him despite his disability.” So the rule at their house is: “Do your best and behave your best no matter what the situation.”

Kieffer’s ambition for her children is that they will complete their education to the best of their abilities and enter post secondary schools. She hopes that she has “raised them in such a way that gives them the ability to handle success, loss, joy, sadness, pleasure and humiliation in a respectable way so that they can be assets to society.”

Kieffer will be honored at the RES chorus concert on May 19.