By Nicole Thomas
Sudduth Elementary teacher Amy McReynolds is the 2015 Starkville Oktibbeha School District Teacher of the Year. McReynolds began her teaching career in the former Starkville School District in 1993 as a first grade teacher.
“I feel like I have come full circle,” said McReynolds. “I grew up in this district and I’ve had the privilege of teaching here for 23 years. I am so fortunate to work and continually grow with committed, innovative colleagues who teach with heart, and I am honored to be Teacher of the Year.”
McReynolds, a 1989 graduate of Starkville High School, received her Bachelor of Science Elementary Education and Master of Science Elementary Education degrees from Mississippi State University. She also holds two National Board Certifications.
McReynolds has been recognized multiple times for her outstanding contributions to teaching and education, including winning the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and the Starkville Rotary Club Merrill Hawkins Award for Excellence in Education. Most recently, McReynolds was inducted into the Starkville Area Education Hall of Fame and the Starkville High School Hall of Famous for her exemplary leadership and innovative classroom instruction in elementary education.
McReynolds also has broad experience mentoring and training teachers in Mississippi, including serving as Elementary Vice President for the Mississippi Council of Teachers of Mathematics and District Representative for The Mississippi Professional Educators. Amy has also served on the Mississippi Mathematics Framework Revision Team.
McReynolds is obviously an accomplished teacher by any standard, but it’s her students who drive her to continually strive to become an even better teacher, year after year.
Here’s an excerpt from McReynold’s remarks during convocation:
A student’s emotional intelligence profoundly affects their ability to learn and reach their full potential. The primary cause of anger and misbehavior is an empty emotional LOVE tank and LOVE tanks must be full for discipline to be effective.
The 5 LOVE Languages are:
Physical Touch
Words of Affirmation
Acts of Service
Quality Time
Gifts
In reflection, I thought a lot about Words of Affirmation. I think we educators praise a lot, but those words are based upon achievement or behavior. I thought about how I want my words of affirmation to revolve more around encouragement and affection which is expressing appreciation for the very being of the child just because of who they are.
Every child, every person has a primary LOVE language…a way in which he or she understands LOVE best. People tend to give in the LOVE language they feel most LOVED by. Of course our kids will benefit from our modeling and giving all the LOVE languages, but a watchful eye can help us know how to meet each child’s unique LOVE language need.
We interviewed kids and asked them, “Throughout your school years, how have your teachers made you feel loved and cared for?” Here were some of their comments:
The teacher always gave us snacks when we forgot ours.
She pushed me in the swing.
My teacher knew I really wanted to learn how to go all the way across the big monkey bars and she helped me learn how.
A teacher helped my mom clean me and our car up when I threw up in the carpool line. She gave me a mint so my mouth wouldn’t taste bad on the way home.
We may never know all the little things that we do that are a very BIG deal to a child.
Last summer I went to a wonderful workshop based on the book, Sparks.
For children from disadvantaged situations to reach their full potential and to develop and realize their passions, they must be impacted by a minimum of three “SPARKS,” or meaningful life changing experiences to rise above their difficulties. That’s my challenge to myself and to you.
It would be presumptuous for us to think we could do it alone, but collectively we can be that light, that SPARK, and share LOVE that could alter a student’s life for the good FOREVER!!!
For more from our students about their teachers make them loved and cared for, be sure to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm6wRZUS17M
Congratulations to Mrs. McReynolds and our Outstanding Teacher of the Year Finalists:
Amy McReynolds, Sudduth
Netasha Cummings, Sudduth
Katie Passanante, Ward Stewart
Lakeshia Veasley, Ward Stewart
Lisa Vickers, Henderson
Benjamin Jordan, AMS
Tonya Barnes, AMS
Nicole Dozier, AMS
Sherre Ferguson, SHS
Carolyn Goodman, SHS
Kristi Williams, SHS
Renee Young, SHS
Denise Adair, Millsaps
Debora Brown, West Oktibbeha Elem.
Lasonja Randle – Ferguson, East Oktibbeha Elem.