Caroline Carlson knew exactly which special person she wanted to dress up as for her school’s “Superhero Day” — her very own teacher, Miss. Jaime Deigh.
Deigh is a second-grade teacher at R.E. Baker Elementary in Bentonville, Arkansas, and has been teaching at the school for eight years, Deigh told Fox News Digital.
Each year, Bentonville Public Schools presents one book to each family as a way to encourage literacy and promote reading at home.
Recently, the students and families were encouraged to read the book, “Almost Super.”
In celebration of the project, students and teachers took part in “Spirit Week.”
Monday was “Super Comfy Day,” Tuesday was “Super Kind Day,” Wednesday was “Super Bright Day,” Thursday was “Super Silly Day” and the week concluded with Friday’s “Superhero Day.”
Rather than dressing like Wonder Woman or Supergirl, eight-year-old Caroline wanted to dress up as her “superhero” teacher, Deigh.
“All week Caroline was saying, “I want to be like Miss Deigh. She is a superhero,” Caroline’s mom, Cortney Carlson, told Fox News Digital.
Carlson said she reached out to Deigh and asked what she was planning on wearing for the final day of “Spirit Week”.
“I think she [Deigh] thought Caroline just wanted to wear what she was wearing,” Carson shared.
“For her to think that she wants to look like me, and I’m her superhero just because of what we do together each day, it just really touched my heart.”
Jaime Deigh
“I had to confirm [saying], ‘No, Jaime [Deigh], she wants to be YOU.’”
Deigh said she was “blown away” after hearing that this choice was made by one of her students.
“It was pretty special that she looks at me like her superhero,” Deigh said.
“You just never know the impact that you have on someone every day just through daily interaction,” she added.
With help from Deigh, young Caroline and her mom coordinated the matching outfits — an R.E. Baker Elementary T-shirt, a denim jacket, jeans, and tennis shoes.
“The part that melted my heart was that she had her mom curl her [hair]…and she wanted her hair to look like mine,” Deigh commented.
“When you have children that [are] not seeing other teachers that look like me, and for her to think that she wants to look like me, and I’m her ‘superhero’…it just really touched my heart,” Deigh continued.
Deigh said her journey to becoming a teacher started when her mother would tell her stories about the teachers in her community – including Deigh’s own third-grade teacher.
“I was always obsessed with the fact that [my third-grade teacher] got to drink a Coke while she worked,” Deigh said, with a laugh. “I was like, ‘I want to have a job being a teacher, so I can drink Coke on the job.’”
Deigh would even “play” school at home when she was a child, she said.
“It’s been in me for many, many years to want to be a teacher,” Deigh said.
Carlson said she’s happy to have someone like Deigh teaching her daughter and is filled with “peace of mind” knowing that Caroline is in good hands.
“Having someone like her teacher, that is such an impactful role model that she gets to spend all day with…I send her off to school with such a happy feeling,” Carlson commented.
As soon as Caroline arrived at school, she was ready to show everyone who her superhero was.
Deigh said, “We immediately grabbed hands and gave each other a hug, and then I just wanted to show everybody.”
“We just really wanted to parade around the school. We were so excited.”
As Caroline and Deigh walked around the school building, the school faculty apparently loved the dynamic duo.
“When they saw that [Caroline] had done this awesome gesture in calling me her ‘superhero,’ it was just the icing on the cake in who she is as a child,” Deigh commented.
Deigh described Caroline as a very well-rounded student who is full of kindness.
Deigh said she’s been reading notes from her students which say she’s the “best teacher in the world” and that she is “their superhero” too, she shared.
“It makes me understand why I do what I do each and every day,” Deigh added.