Forest Grove students funneled into the auditorium at Fern Hill Elementary School for their first assembly of the year on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, many expected a routine event to kick off the fall.
But the occasion turned out to be much more than a typical schoolwide gathering.
Just as the assembly was about to begin, school principal Rogelio Martinez made a special announcement: Kayla Davidson, a reading specialist at Fern Hill, had won the Northwest Regional Teacher of the Year Award — and was now a finalist for the statewide title…