A new crop of future educators recently committed to their calling.
Future Educator Signing Day was held Tuesday, May 8. Twenty-seven Thomas County Central High School students signed on the line to commit to a career in education.
“Students who are majoring in education signed a certificate of intent declaring their major,” explains TCCHS ECE teacher Cindy Carnes.
These students are: Chris Allen, Raney Binion, Michaelah Collier, Quintavius Cooksey, Briana Criswell, Parker Dixon, Matthew Edmonds, Arienna Floyd, Hailey Garmon, Emma Giles, Morgan Hurst, Destiny Ivey, Shedrica Jenkins, Hope Johnson, Lynlee “Madison” Johnson, Riley Jones, Angelena Lankford, Ashlan Layton, Elena Love, Abby Mitchell, Courtney Robinson, Tamesha Roland, Mckayla Skinner, Jada Sparrow, Kalauni Stewart, T’eKeyah Travis and Amyhia Virgil.
“Signing my name on that piece of paper pledging to serve as an educator felt pretty amazing,” Courtney Robinson says. “In that moment it was like I cannot believe that I am about to do this. All my life I have wanted to be a teacher and here I am pledging to serve as one by signing my name on this paper.”
Jada Sparrow says the smile on her face stretched for miles as she signed her name.
“It felt like my future had been set, and now when people ask me what I’m going to do in the future I can say, ‘I’m going to be an educator,’” she said.
Approximately 20 of these students took classes in the school’s early childhood education program.
“While not all of the students have gone through the early childhood education program, we do feel a sense of validation for our program for the ones who did,” Carnes said. “We are also proud of our students outside of ECE who are taking the calling of education from the middle grades and secondary education routes. This is a proud day for our entire school.”
Robinson wants to be an educator because teachers are an important part of the world and are always needed. She hopes to leave an impact on her students, just as her teachers have upon her.
“Over the years I have had multiple teachers that have left impacts on me, but one that has had a huge impact on me becoming an educator is Mrs. Cindy Carnes,” Robinson says. “All throughout high school I took her early childhood classes because I knew I wanted to become a teacher and those classes would be beneficial to me. In her classes I learned so much about teaching and how to take care of children. So thank you to Mrs. Carnes for all that you have done over the years for me and helping me grow in the education field. Thank you to all my teachers over the years for getting me where I am today. You all are amazing.”
Robinson plans to attend Valdosta State University to earn a degree in early childhood education. She wants to teach students anywhere from kindergarten to fifth grade.
“These first few grades are very important in a child's life because that is where they learn a lot of stuff they will need to know later in life,” she said. “For example, adding, subtracting, how to write good sentences, and how to sound out and spell words that may be hard for them.”
Sparrow, who wants to attend University of Georgia or Kennesaw State University, also intends to major in early childhood education.
“I personally love math, so I want to teach either third grade math or fourth grade math,” she said.
Sparrow was one of the ECE program interns this year. She says Carnes and fellow ECE teacher Amy Smith helped make her dream a reality. Children make Sparrow happy and she hopes that, by becoming a teacher, she can make her students feel the same.
“The internship with Mrs. Carnes truly showed me that my place is in the classroom,” she said.
The signing day is promoted by the Georgia Board of Education and supported by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators.
“It is important that we recognize the accomplishments of these students as they dream of and pursue their future educating children,” Carnes said.
During the ceremony, each student had time to sign his or her certificate and take photos with teachers, family and friends. Following the ceremony, a reception in the school’s main conference room was held.
“We are so proud of each of these students,” Carnes said. “These students are taking on a tremendous challenge and a life-long calling to be educators. We will always support them in their future endeavors and are so proud to say that they have come from TCCHS! It was a great day for these future educators and their families.”