Wednesday, August 14, 2002
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Wednesday, August 14, 2002 |
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Flat Rock teacher named Georgia's Teacher of Promise
The Georgia Council of the Teaching of Mathematics (GCTM) has named Kayla Seabolt the 2002 Georgia Teacher of Promise. Seabolt, a first-year math teacher at Flat Rock Middle School during the 2001-2002 academic year, was nominated by school principal Tyrone Jones to receive the award which is given to a teacher with one to three years of experience who has shown exemplary teaching skills. Students at the school know Seabolt as a teacher who has a talent for explaining math concepts as well as someone who truly cares about students. Jones notes that the word quickly spread around the school about Seabolt's ability to make math understandable and that she would often spend her mornings before school assisting with homework or explaining concepts to students from other classes. "She has even had parents call her both at school and at home to ask if she could tutor their child or work with him or her before school because they too had heard that she does well explaining concepts to students," said Jones. Not only is she a hit with students and their parents, but Seabolt has also won the respect of her colleagues. During the academic year, Seabolt was always one of the first teachers to volunteer for the most difficult assignments. In addition to teaching math, Seabolt coached soccer and softball at Sandy Creek High School as well as basketball at Flat Rock. "Ms. Seabolt has shown herself to be a hard working professional who exhibits creativity in her classroom instruction and concern for her students. She has all of the qualities that make an outstanding teacher," stated Jones. It is obvious that Seabolt has a love for teaching math but she did not always warmly embrace the subject. Her mother, Kay, remembers that she did not like math in elementary school but that all changed when she became a student at Flat Rock. "Her eyes were opened to the beauty of mathematics and she loved the subject beginning with pre-algebra in the 7th grade," said Mrs. Seabolt. "She had three well-versed teachers, Gayle Higley, Peggy Leonard and Laurie Townsend. She wanted to return to Flat Rock Middle to hopefully give to some students the love and appreciation for math that she gained while a student there herself." As the 2002 Teacher of Promise, Seabolt received a lifetime membership to the Georgia Council of the Teachers of Mathematics, a $350 cash award to be used for classroom materials, a certificate of merit and an all-expense-paid trip to Augusta to learn how math is used in various industries.
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