VALDOSTA – Throughout the 2021-22 school year, teachers all over the world were thrust into uncharted territory without a map: teaching in the middle of a global pandemic. All instructors were faced with the near impossible task of keeping their students from falling victim to the pitfalls of social distancing, virtual learning, and the utter confusion of their new normal.

The 2021-22 Teachers of the Year for the local public schools, just like their immediate predecessors, have the distinction of not only taking on a challenge never before seen in an academic setting, but going above and beyond by keeping their kids engaged from a distance. These two teachers showed true strength and resilience in the face of staffing shortages, ever-changing mandates, and devastating losses.

Lowndes County Schools District Teacher of the Year: Ryan Dixon

Ryan Dixon has been a school counselor at Pine Grove Middle School for the last 13 years. As one can imagine, providing academic and emotional guidance to developing preteens is challenging enough, but having to connect with said students remotely is a whole other issue. Dixon spent the past year working tirelessly to collaborate with each student’s parents to stay on top of the children’s mental health, noting that it’s all too easy for them to get caught up in the isolating nature of social distancing and virtual learning.

“Working with parents and families is essential in education. Parents’ support is the most important factor in the student’s success,” he said. “Needless to say, that is much harder in a virtual environment, so staying on top of them through meetings, regularly scheduled phone calls, and keeping an open line of communication. Much of my time in my unique position is spent on counseling the parents as much as the kids.”

It wasn’t just Dixon’s tenacity through COVID that earned him the ‘Teacher of the Year’ title among his peers. His nomination package noted his evolution to a patient, understanding and supportive advocate for his students. Dixon explained that his top priority as a counselor is to proactively address the children’s mental health, as many of them are dealing with issues of growing up for the first time. On top of that, this latest generation is tackling difficulties that are new for both them and educators, such as social media.

“I see a lot more students generally struggling with mental wellness, and it is due to a variety of factors. However, I am seeing a lot of it stem from the pandemic and their social media usage. So my methods these past few years are more focused on building resilience and coping skills and to not be afraid of any stigma. I want school to be one of the places students can rely on adequate mental health support,” he said.

It was this focus that led to Dixon’s proudest moment as an educator: seeing a struggling pupil rise above their circumstances to graduate and move on to bigger and better things. Dixon notes it is a fairly common occurrence to see struggling students learn to better themselves, but the impact of watching their journey is never less rewarding.

“There was one particular student I had, she came to me wanting to drop out and not sure if she could ever graduate. I had developed a rapport with her and was determined to have her finish middle school,” he said.

“The high school has this tradition where graduating seniors walk through the halls of their own schools, and I saw her years later doing that graduation walk. She saw me and mouthed ‘thank you’. That had to have been one of my proudest moments in my life.”

Valdosta City School District Teacher of the Year: Holly Penland

Holly Penland has been teaching first grade at Sallas Mahone Elementary School for the entirety of her eight year career. She has a specialty of teaching a gifted set of students, which allows her to teach them phonetics and basic reading comprehension in “fun, creative” ways. Her teaching style is highly interactive, and she appreciates the human touch that comes with the teaching profession, which made virtual learning particularly challenging for her.

“A big part of my first grade class is coming on the carpet, getting real close to each other, and learning together, so I had to constantly shift and rethink how to reach my students,” she said.

“I found myself having to speak louder than usual, and the tech issues were just unprecedented. It was a struggle finding our footing, that’s for sure.”

One thing Penland’s peers noted in their nomination of her was being able to maintain her highly energized and engaging lessons throughout the pandemic, as well as instinctively and seamlessly incorporating emotional intelligence into her classes. Penland said that the adults had a difficult time understanding and coping with the pandemic, and it made her think just how confusing it was to her class of 6 and 7 year olds.

“For the first year going into this, it was honestly scary. There are nine first grade teachers, with three being virtual and the rest of us in person. Our desks were all in rows which was not developmentally appropriate for the kids. We had all the new protocols we had to go through. It was a turbulent and confusing time for all of us, the kids especially. We’re seeing more social and emotional needs that have to be addressed,” she said.

One thing that has made the shift easier was the emphasis on technology and social media. Penland’s teaching philosophy is keeping everything “as interactive as possible” and not just rely on paper and pencil to get through to her students. Even though it seems life has been on pause for the last two years, she believes her students can keep moving forward just like “like the tech age has.”

“I don’t want my kids just staring in front of a computer reading either. I want them to dive deep in each program we do and really take a hold of it. We’ve been doing Google Slides and Docs, and it is honestly amazing what these children can do. They’re already creating really cool graphics and smooth clip shows. It keeps them focused and forward thinking,” she said.

Penland is looking forward to the future when all of her students can be back in the classroom full time. She said the highlight of her day is grouping her students together on her ABC carpet and watching them learn and grow together. With the way everything seems to be progressive, she’s optimistic that time will come again sooner than later.

“I love watching my kids group up and problem solve together. They always say ‘Mrs. Penland says we can work this out, as long as we’re together’. Then you see the smiles on their faces when they have it figured out. That’s what I missed the most. We’re slowly but surely getting back into that groove, and nothing makes me happier. It’s why I do what I do,” she said.