Here's to the Teacher
By Dr. John Barge,
State School Superintendent
Here's to the teacher
rising at 4:00 a.m. to tend to the needs of her own family prior to leaving
home for her school.
Here's to the teacher
who arrives at school by 6:00 a.m. to ready her classroom for the day's
lessons.
Here's to the teacher
who is at his duty station every morning by 7:00 to monitor student behavior as
students begin arriving on the buses, but the school day doesn't start until
8:00 a.m.
Here's to the teacher
who used his own money to buy some new clothes for the child who has worn the
same outfit for the last three days; other children are beginning to taunt that
child for his smell.
Here's to the teacher
who arrives at school an hour early every day to tutor students who are
struggling to keep up the pace in the regular class -- and receives no extra
pay.
Here's to the teacher
who broke up a fight between two boys twice her size during the morning
breakfast.
Here's to the
lunchroom workers who arrived early to prepare breakfast for the majority of
students in the school whose only meals that day will be the free breakfast and
lunch they receive at school.
Here's to the
kindergarten teacher who miraculously teaches 32 five year-olds for seven hours
a day without assistance because budget cuts eliminated her paraprofessional.
Here's to the teacher
who wipes the noses and tends to the cuts and scrapes of her students.
Here's to the teacher
who cleans up after her sick student.
Here's to the teacher
who is daily faced with the challenge of meeting the academic needs of five
gifted children, five children with individualized education plans, five
students who speak little to no English, and 10 average students all in the
same class period.
Here's to the rural high
school math teacher, or English, or science, or social studies, who must teach
every subject to every child in the school because the school is so small they
only earn one teacher per content field.
Here's to the teacher
who endures the verbal abuse of a parent because his child didn't pass the
teacher's class.
Here's to the teacher
who endures the verbal abuse of a parent because his child made a 93 on the
test and not a 100.
Here's to the
assistant principal who takes a loaded handgun from a student who says the only
reason he brought the gun to school was to protect himself from another child
who threatened to stab him.
Here's to the same
assistant principal who then takes a six-inch hunting knife off the child who
threatened the one with the gun.
Here's to the teacher
who lends a caring ear to a young girl who tearfully confides in her that she
is pregnant and is afraid her father will disown her when he finds out.
Here's to the teacher
who reads in a student's journal of the abuse she is enduring at the hands of
her stepfather.
Here's to the teacher
who pays for the eyeglasses for her student because her family can't afford
them.
Here's to the teacher
who spends hundreds of dollars of her own money supplying her classroom because
budget cuts have eliminated her supply money.
Here's to the teacher
who eats lunch standing up while performing lunch duty.
Here's to the
principal who oversees the evacuation of her building due to a bomb threat.
Here's to the teacher
who peers into the bloodshot, vacant eyes of his student who is strung out on
drugs and strives to spark an interest in Geometry.
Here's to the same
teacher who then deals with the intoxicated parent of the same child.
Here's to the
assistant principal whose life is threatened because he won't let a child get
into a car with an intoxicated parent who came to school to pick up his child.
Here's to the teacher
who is caught in the middle of a custody dispute between parents over who has
the right to information.
Here's to the teacher
who is slapped and spit on every day by the severely disabled children she
teaches.
Here's to the teacher
who changes the diapers of her severely disabled children every day.
Here's to the teacher
who catheterizes her profoundly disabled student every day.
Here's to the teacher
who tends to her unconscious student who has had a seizure in her classroom due
to a previously unknown medical condition.
Here's to the teacher
who performs routine lice-checks on her students.
Here's to the teacher
who drives a child home from school after a basketball game because his father
won't pick him up.
Here's to the
teachers of the deaf and blind.
Here's to the teacher
who strives daily to break through the vacant stares and walls built by the
child who spends most of her time at home locked in a room with boarded up
windows and no food.
Here's to the
counselor who comforts the child who just lost both of her parents in an
accident.
Here's to the teacher
who, in spite of all these challenges, must ensure that; all children are
reading on grade level; that she is differentiating instruction to meet the
needs of the special needs, gifted, English language learners and average
learners all in the same class period; and, that he is trained and teaching the
standards properly, and is making the expected growth every year.
Here's to the teacher
who, after arriving home, prepares dinner for her family, cleans up from
dinner, and gets her children to bed, before spending two hours grading papers
only to fall into bed by 11:00 that night, if she is lucky, and then have the
alarm go off at 4:00 the next morning to start all over again.
Here's to the teacher
who is then openly harangued and criticized regularly in the public eye for not
being successful with every child in his class.
Here's to the
teachers of Georgia who have faced each of these challenges head-on and still
miraculously managed to raise the level of student achievement in the state of
Georgia to some of its highest marks ever.
News/Timelines/Due Dates
This week, our parents salute the AMMS staff including a
luncheon this Wednesday. You may also
choose to wear jeans every day this week!
I want to give a special shout out to the F.I.G.H.T club (thanks
Jackie for starting this club) and student council for the great presence we
had at Relay for Life! They sold S’mores
made over a fire pit (thanks Dan)! It
was great to have so many students involved this year and we were one of the
highest donors.
Great picture of our visiting Korean teachers with their
host teachers and their families at Stone Mountain this weekend. And notice our very talented sixth grade
teachers in their newest profession! (see below)
Heads Up:
Rising 5th grade students will be visiting AMMS
next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, May 6-8. Music students will be
performing for their arrival at 9:00AM. Please excuse these students for
a few minutes while they perform for our future AMMS Lions.
Food Drive: Please talk up the food drive. This is a critical time for North Fulton
Community Charities as students who are used to getting free and reduced lunch
will not get that chance during the summer.
Let’s really have a great turn out for those less fortunate.
Governance Council
Elections – You will receive directions next week on how to vote for the
teacher representative for governance council.
The choice should not be too difficult as we only have one
candidate. Here is her bio: Rebecca
Myers
I am currently in my eighth year as a teacher and have
taught at the high school and middle school levels. I have also taught in urban and rural
districts fused with diversity. I have a
Masters in Educational Administration and am a certified Biology and Middle
Grades Science teacher with an Administration certification. I am currently working towards my PL6
certification at Kennesaw State University.
I love education and I love teaching and working with children. They are the reasons I come to school every day
and my motivation to continually work hard and improve as an educator. I would like to be a part of the governance
council because of their roles in designing innovative solutions to increase
student achievement and its impact on the direction of the school. I would like to be a member of the council
that looks within the school and its community to work together, putting the
needs of the students first, thereby increasing student growth and achievement. I currently influence the lives of about 100
students per year. I would like to take
the next step and be a part of a larger democratic process that impacts many
more students. Being a member of the school governance council will allow me to
understand the educational needs of the community and use this as a focal
driving point to increase student learning,
growth, and achievement for all the students at Autrey Mill.
PRIDE: This Friday, May 9th
will be the final meeting for PRIDE this school year. (May 16th –
May Madness and May 23rd – LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!) All grade
lessons will have a concluding lesson of reflection and a survey. Think
about ways you can celebrate this school year with your PRIDE groups.
Reflect back on the memories that have been created during this year or even
the past two or three years with your group.
Teachers and students will be asked to complete a
survey. All surveys (Students and Teachers) should be
turned in to Fran Meredith by the end of the day Friday, May 9th.
Now is a great time to start cleaning out your PRIDE
materials if you have not already done so. If you have been holding on to
any PRIDE lesson materials that need to be returned or could be used again in
the future please return those to Wendy Wilson or Kathy Nagle. If you
have mosaic tiles from the lesson a few weeks ago, please put those in the
cardboard box in the front office mailroom. Make sure ALL hula-hoops are
returned to the PE staff.
Where is Livingston?
Marisa Wesker says,
“The person I would like to pass Livingston to
is someone who works day and (literally) night to accommodate the needs of ALL
of her students. She does so with passion and integrity, and she has
inspired me to be a better teacher this year. This person has become not
just a colleague to me, but a friend and confidant. Her patience with
some of our more challenging students is unmatched, and she teaches from her
heart. From her, I have gotten great advice and a sounding board for
ideas, issues, and pretty much everything else. This week, Livingston
will live with Danielle Sherfey."
Happy Birthday
Jackie Sundal May 7
Sarah Jarvis May 7
Dana Griffin May 9
Michael Harrell May 9
Nomitha Thomas May 11
Supplies for Next
Year: If you would like to shop for
next year’s classroom supplies, the Office Max catalogs are in Beth’s
office. The suggested limited again next year will be $100.00
Joe Wilson says “This person is an individual that I have
had the great pleasure of working closely with this year on several projects
concerning our mutual shared club interests. In the technology and robotics
club with him this year I have seen this individual spend entire weeks in a row
giving his extra time after school as late as 6 or 7 pm to ensure that his
students were prepared for a big competition. (Which they won, by the way!) His
passion for the technologies and their multiple uses in society today are also
easily seen in his classroom as he imparts this knowledge to his students who
often can’t wait to try it out for themselves. From 3d CAD houses to cardboard
marble roller coasters, this individual is your go-to-guy. That is why I am
happy to pass Livingston on to Ed Clawson!”
