‘You gotta love to do it’
West Central teacher Stephanie Dean is named Teacher of the Year, as a Rome banquet honors educators and support personnel.
On the day that teacher Stephanie Dean was named as the Teacher of the Year for West Central Elementary, she didn’t think the bouquet of flowers Principal Leslie Dixon was carrying across the lunchroom was meant for her.
But when she made it back to her classroom, her students screamed at the top of their lungs as the honor was bestowed upon her. The moment produced a warm feeling for Dean, she recalled, even if she was completely duped by Dixon. This memory is one of an ever-growing number that come from time spent with her school family, from the funny to the serious, and all in between.
“You gotta love to do it,” said Dean, who is in her eighth year with Rome City Schools and also leads the ASPIRE after-school program at West Central, along with a host of other community activities. “I love working here at West Central.”
The fifth-grade social studies and writing teacher received another honor Tuesday, when she was announced as the system’s Teacher of the Year during a banquet at Rome Middle.
Building relationships is the key to teaching and the most rewarding part, Dean said. When students know the person at the front of the room loves them, cares for them, and wishes the best for them, then they want to please them, from the topperforming students to the lowest, she said.
She gave the example of a former student, who would stay out late without his mother knowing where he was. She would go to his home at night to check on him, to see if he had his homework done and to make sure he was home by 8 p.m. Self-help work would be assigned to him in the morning, so he could elicit his feelings to put on paper.
People often don’t realize what kids have to go through, she said, or all that teachers have to respond to outside of academics, Dean explained.
Rome City Schools will be represented by Dean in the state Teacher of the Year competition. The winner will be announced in the spring.
In the often bustling front office at Elm Street Elementary, visitors will likely be met first by Julie Clonts, a secretary at the school. She received the Support Employee of the Year Award on Tuesday.
Having been on the other side of the counter as a parent, perhaps even being irritating to secretaries like herself, helps her understand where those she helps are coming from as she contributes to the family-friendly atmosphere, she said. The busyness of the front office is a fitting environment for her, she explained, finding it similar to her previous job at Tax Wise. Multitasking is a job requirement, and she likes it that way.
Clonts, who is in her sixth year at Elm Street, said she loves to see the excitement on the faces of parents and grandparents who come through the office for special events at the school.