Alexa Nigretto’s love of children all began on Orcas.

Nigretto, an Orcas High School graduate, received the Bellingham Public School Promise award for “Great Teaching” on March 22.

Before leaving for college, she worked at Kaleidoscope Preschool and Child Care Center for a year and a half.

“My time there is definitely what made me want to go back to school and become a teacher,” Nigretto said.

She received her teaching degree from Western Washington University and has been teaching kindergarten in Bellingham for the past five years.

Nigretto was hired by Bellingham Public Schools two days after graduation from Western for the pilot year of their program “Promise Kindergarten,” which is a free, full-day early entrance class for children who are scheduled to enter kindergarten in the upcoming fall. The program focuses on basic academic and social skills to help kids get a jump start towards success in school.

The Promise Awards provide an opportunity to highlight the “exceptional work of select honorees that make a significant difference.”