Third grade teacher Sandra Tavitian was visibly shocked by the visitors she received in her John Brown Francis classroom Wednesday. She shook with surprise as NBC 10 and the Rhode Island Department of Education dropped by to present her with a Golden Apple Award.

Golden Apples are given by RIDE, Hasbro and NBC 10 to educators who “believe in the true spirit of teaching by making classrooms a creative and safe place to learn.” Winners receive $250 from Hasbro provided by the Kids in Need Foundation to put toward their classroom needs and a gift bag from science kit creators Thames and Kosmos.

Mayor Scott Avedisian, Superintendent Philip Thornton, Commissioner of Education Ken Wagner, Elementary Director Lynn Dambruch and plenty of Tavitian’s colleagues, family and friends were on hand to celebrate with her. She was nominated for the award by JBF Principal David Cluff and Secretary Debra Norma-Perry, who agreed she was a worthy recipient.

Tavitian, who will retire this year, has been a teacher for 39 years and has taught at JBF for 32 years. Her colleagues and students alike remarked on her constant involvement with the school, spearheading numerous fundraisers, serving on committees, and organizing lots of bulletin boards. To them, she’s a helpful, “go-to” person.

“She’s the last one out every night,” said fifth grade teacher Mary Steinkamp.

Fifth grade teacher Kim Williams said Tavitian is good at taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of her students and takes time to work with them individually.

“Over the years she’s had some tough cases, but she’s gotten right through it, worked with them, and done really, really well,” Williams said.

Cluff called Tavitian a humble, true leader at Francis and compared her relationship with her students to art.

“As a teacher, she’s an artist, and she has 24 separate palettes. She paints them every day, every minute, every hour, every year,” he said. “She has turned out the most wonderful people in this school. You just don’t run into this type of human being.”

As she looks to her upcoming retirement, Tavitian said she has learned in her 39 years of teaching to “treat your class like a family, have a lot of patience, come to work every day with a smile, and look for the good in all the children.”

“They all have something to offer,” she said of her students.

NBC 10’s full segment on Tavitian will air on May 4 at 6 p.m.