Little Voices, Big Impact: How Gracie Akin Is Shaping Young Hearts in Texarkana
by: Michelle Horton
In a classroom filled with laughter, movement, and the unmistakable energy of three-year-olds discovering the world for the first time, Gracie Akin has found her calling. As a Pre-K 3 Teacher at Redlick Christian Preschool, Akin is not just teaching colors, letters, and numbers. She is shaping confidence, nurturing kindness, and helping her students take their very first steps toward independence.
Akin’s story begins right here in Texarkana, where she was born and raised. Her upbringing was rooted in family, activity, and the simple joys of childhood. “Growing up, my favorite thing to do was go fishing with my dad,” Akin says. “I was always playing various sports growing up from a young age. I have three sisters.”
Her school years took her through several local campuses. “For middle school, I went to Pleasant Grove, and I completed high school at Arkansas High, where I was in the Marching band and Color Guard program,” Akin says. Those experiences, she reflects, helped shape both her discipline and her creativity. Today, she continues to build a life in the same community that raised her. “I currently live with my fiancé Joe Rochelle. He has really been there to support me and support what I want to do in life,” Akin says.
While many teachers can point to a single defining moment that led them into education, Akin’s path was more gradual, rooted in years of quiet influence. “Well, growing up, my mother had an in-home daycare. So I have always been around children and helping her with everything,” Akin says. “Since a young age, I have known I could be a teacher someday. I have always had a heart for helping young children, and anytime I have been around them, I have always worked well with them.”
That steady sense of calling eventually led her to Redlick Christian Preschool. After gaining experience elsewhere and taking time to reflect on her future, clarity came. “I took some time thinking about what I wanted to do in life, and I knew that I wanted to be a teacher,” Akin says. “I started looking for a place of employment, and at the right time God led me to this Preschool right when I needed it.”
That sense of purpose is something Akin carries with her into the classroom each day. For her, teaching is not simply a job. It is a calling grounded in both faith and intentionality. “I would say my faith is definitely in the classroom with me every day,” Akin says. “I know that God called me to do this job, and to show that there is love and life in everything that you do.”
Working with three-year-olds requires a special kind of patience and joy, and Akin embraces both. “For me, I love the three-year-olds,” Akin says. “They are right in the age where they can talk, and are growing away from the two-year-old mentality, and growing into independent children.” It is a stage filled with rapid emotional and social development. “They also are going from understanding just their feelings to understanding others’ feelings as well and not just theirs,” Akin says.
That transformation is something she gets to witness daily, often in the smallest and most meaningful ways. “My favorite thing is getting to watch all of their little personalities come to life,” Akin says. “They all have very unique personalities; some are the ‘jokesters’ of the classroom, and some have very sassy personalities.”
Step inside her classroom, and the day unfolds with a rhythm that balances structure and joy. “Every morning when I first walk in, all the kids tell me good morning and give me hugs,” Akin says. “We eat our breakfast, then we get to do our morning dance parties.” From there, the learning begins in earnest. “After that, we get all of our work and crafts done. The kids learn in center play, then we get some fresh air outside,” Akin says. The day continues with lunch, rest, and more opportunities to learn and play. “After a good nap, we wake up to do circle time, and learn in centers again, then we get to the end of the day, the fun part of the day with Play-Doh, and circle play time,” Akin says.
If there is one theme that defines Akin’s teaching style, it is her commitment to fostering independence. “I will definitely say my teaching philosophy is more of a realistic teaching style,” Akin says. “I am teaching them to be more independent. They have learned that they are capable of doing a lot of things on their own and not so much relying on someone else to do it for them.” At the same time, that independence is balanced with deep care and connection. “I comfort them,” Akin says. “One of my biggest things I like to do is I tell them how important they are and give them hugs. They know if they need a hug, I will always be there. I care for them and love them.”
That combination of structure and affection creates a classroom where students feel safe enough to grow. It also creates plenty of unforgettable moments along the way. “There are so many funny moments that happen in my classroom every day,” Akin says. “Between the jokes, and the sass, and the southern accents that come out when they are trying so hard to explain something.” Some of those moments have stayed with her long after the laughter fades. “I had one of my kids tell me a story about his baseball game,” Akin says. “He said, ‘Ms. Gracie, I found a snail at my baseball game and picked it up.’ I replied, ‘Eww, I bet it was stinky.’ He said, ‘No, it was not disgusting, it was my friend.’ We both just started laughing.”
Beyond the laughter, Akin is intentional about helping her students develop skills that will carry them far beyond her classroom. “One of my biggest things I hope they take away from my classroom is that they can do anything they put their minds to,” Akin says. That message is reinforced through both instruction and example. She measures her success by transformation. “To me, I can measure my success as a teacher in the classroom when I can tell that they are implementing the things that I teach them,” Akin says. “When the knowledge that I have taught them sticks with them, and it starts to show. An example of that would be they will comfort each other in a time of need, and they are learning to coexist in the classroom together.”
Of course, teaching three-year-olds comes with its challenges. Chief among them is their seemingly endless energy. “One of the biggest challenges that Pre-K 3 has is all the energy they have at this age,” Akin says. “They have so much energy, and they have to find a way to get it out.” Akin meets that challenge with creativity and enthusiasm. “A couple of ways I like to help them with that are our dance parties, we shake all our wiggles out,” Akin says. “Another great way is when we go outside, I like to teach them little games. Like tag, freeze tag, and even duck, duck, goose.”
Her favorite activities often reflect that same hands-on, high-energy approach. “My favorite activity to do with the children is our dance parties,” Akin says. “At this age, they have so much energy, so I love to dance with them and get our wiggles out.” She also finds joy in creative projects that spark imagination. “My favorite activity to do with the children is on Earth Day. We make sensory bottles with sand and water, like a beach in a bottle,” Akin says.
Through it all, Akin continues to grow alongside her students. “Taking this job opportunity has really opened my eyes,” Akin says. “Every day it helps me realize that this is something I was made to do, this is my purpose in life, to help teach small children about the world. It has made me feel more loved every day.”
That sense of purpose extends beyond her classroom and into the broader Texarkana community. “I think preschools are amazing because they help young children get ready for school,” Akin says. “It helps them in so many ways that when they get to kindergarten, they will have a much easier time getting into the school program.”
Even the smallest gestures from her students serve as reminders of the impact she is making. “I will say feedback from the children would be that they want hugs from me every day,” Akin says. “I have one student who tells me every morning, Ms. Gracie, I did not get a hug today.”
Outside the classroom, Akin finds joy in the same things that have always grounded her: relationships and shared experiences. “Outside of the classroom, my favorite thing to do is spend time with family,” Akin says. “My fiancé and I love to vacation in other places and just explore the world together.”
It is a fitting balance for someone whose work is rooted in both care and curiosity. In many ways, Akin is doing exactly what she set out to do from a young age, even if she did not recognize it at the time. She is helping children grow, guiding them as they begin to understand themselves and others, and showing them that they are capable of more than they realize.
In this town that values connection and community, teachers like Gracie Akin play a quiet but powerful role. Day by day, hug by hug, lesson by lesson, she is helping shape not just students, but the future of Texarkana itself.