Friday, May 17, 2002
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Friday, May 17, 2002 |
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Teacher, former students honored White Oak Elementary School teacher Montie Strickland had a double reason to be proud at the annual Coweta County Teacher of the Year ceremony this year. Not only is she White Oak's 2002 Teacher of the Year - chosen by her peers as the school's top teacher - she is also the former teacher of two other local Teachers of the Year, including Atkinson Elementary School's 2002 TOTY, Elizabeth Terrell. She is also the former teacher of White Oak's 2001 Teacher of the Year, Laura Hightower. Strickland, a third-grade teacher at White Oak, taught both Terrell and Hightower in first grade at Elm Street Elementary School during her first two years as a teacher. Terrell and Hightower, in turn, teach first grade at their schools. "Nancy Royal was also my first-grade teacher, so I had a good foundation," quipped Terrell. Royal was Coweta County's 1992 Teacher of the Year and the 1993 Georgia Teacher of the Year. Hightower said Strickland had a strong impact on her when she was in her first-grade class in 1979. "She was a wonderful teacher. I remember wanting to kiss the ground she walked on." Strickland's students have had as big an impact on her. Meeting with Hightower and Terrell at Elm Street, the three reminisced recently about where their room was and recalled their classmates. Strickland produced a scrapbook that had photos of every class since she began teaching at Elm Street in 1979. It included a picture of a six-year-old Terrell in pigtails, and Strickland in her class photo. The three picked out other students, and Strickland told stories of who was in what college, or in law school, or who was marrying whom. Montie Strickland takes pride in her students, but is particularly happy her former pupils have been named their schools' Teacher of the Year. "I know it has made their mamas proud, and it's made me proud, too." Terrell and Hightower credit Strickland, among others, with their desire to become teachers. "I probably chose to become a teacher based on my previous experiences throughout school," said Terrell, who is in her fifth year of teaching. "I was fortunate to have excellent teachers as a student and their kindness and compassion is probably what led me to become a teacher. I want to continue the tradition." "Plus, it was in my blood," said Hightower, who has taught at White Oak for three years, after several years at Jefferson Parkway Elementary. With her mother, father, uncle, a grandmother and others serving as teachers before her, "my whole family is in education, so I was predestined," she said.
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