Team Best

We want to introduce you to a friend and colleague of ours named LaTonya Best.  Like many people who work with children, she gives her students and colleagues everything and then some!  In the fall of 2016 LaTonya began having chest pains and was rushed to the hospital. After a series of tests, she was diagnosed with Stage 1 Sarcoidosis,  an incurable disease that causes the growth of collections of inflammatory cells in different parts of the body.  Tragically, this same disease took the life of the father of her children, just the year before.  In 2019, while continuing to battle the effects of sarcoidosis, LaTonya was diagnosed with breast cancer.  While celebrating a one year anniversary of being cancer-free this past September, she was informed by her doctor that her sarcoidosis had spread through her body and is now at Stage 4. 

We have an opportunity to give back to a woman who has given so much to so many students and families in our community.  Please help us to help this amazing woman and her family create memories that her children can cherish for years to come.

We would like to send Ms. Best and her family on the vacation of a lifetime--a trip fabulous enough to suit the woman who has done so much for us and for our students over the years. We hope that you’ll take a few moments to watch the videos that appear on this page so that you can hear from the people who love her and begin to understand the magnitude of Ms. Best’s impact on our school and community. Any amount is helpful and appreciated. Ms. Best has shown us that miracles do happen one small step at a time, and we hope that you’ll be one of the steps that gets us closer to our goal!

This disease is unpredictable, and due to this unpredictability, Latonya needs to enjoy the time she has remaining. Please help us help her to create memories.

Below you will find links to sites and videos to help you learn about Latonya:

An Introduction to why we created this Go Fund Me:


LaTonya explains some details about her journey, and the health care battles she has endured.

Colleague Shannon Baggett with LaTonya:


Colleague Jason Conklin with LaTonya:


Colleague Leah Kiell shares a story of why LaTonya is so important to her students:


Colleague Alston Arras shares a story of the impact LaTonya has on her students:


Colleague Samantha Covalt shares a story of the impact LaTonya has on her students:


Colleague Matthew Leggat shares a story of the impact LaTonya has on her students:


Background narrative from LaTonya's colleagues