Houston Teacher of the Year ‘teaches the whole child,’ principal says

When 17 children arrived for their first day of kindergarten at Shirley Hills Elementary School on Friday, they went into the care of Houston County’s Teacher of the Year.

Ashley Watkins was announced for that honor on Monday, but she said she was “100 percent certain” heading into a teacher convocation that she had not been chosen. Generally, the family of the top teacher attends the session, and her husband, Daniel, went to work that morning while her mother, Joyce, also had other plans — or so Watkins thought.

“My family did a great job of not giving any hints,” she said, noting that her whole family was waiting behind the stage.

Watkins is married to Daniel Watkins, and they have three children — 8-year-old Cami, 4-year-old Mati and 2-year-old Mili.

She described the award as a “huge honor,” particularly since she’s a product of the Houston County school system as a 2002 graduate of Northside High School.

Watkins also credited Debra Courtney, who still teaches first grade at Northside Elementary, as a driving force behind her career path. Calling herself a “troublemaker” when she was in kindergarten, Watkins said Courtney helped raise her expectations.

“She just took me up under her wing,” Watkins said. “I wanted to be good because of her.”

Watkins ties those childhood memories into how she teaches her students. For instance, she wants to make sure she doesn’t get in the habit of just telling children the rules without explaining herself.

“Well, that wasn’t good enough for me,” she recalled. “I wanted to know the reason.”

Because of that, she tells kids that they have to push their chairs under the table so that no one will trip and get hurt. In fact, she told her class on Friday that most of the rules in her classroom come back to keeping them safe.

“I can’t send you home hurt,” she said. “Your parents are trusting me.”

Beyond safety, Principal Traci Jackson said that parents bringing their children to Watkins were probably excited because of her history of success.

“I think that they have very high expectations that their students will go into that class and will be successful as well,” Jackson said.

Part of that track record was Watkins’ class from last year, since those students published a children’s book called “Barky the Mouse.” Based on a story by student Carson Stanley, the book teaches kids about conflict resolution.

Jackson, who said any of her teachers could have been chosen for the honor, said the book’s publication was a sign of a key element of Watkins’ strengths as a teacher.

“She’s one of those teachers that goes above and beyond what the state says her responsibilities are,” Jackson said. “Mrs. Watkins teaches the whole child.”

Danna Dean, one of Shirley Hills’ kindergarten paraprofessionals, described Watkins as “very caring, very focused.” Dean and Watkins are part of a Bible study together, and the group of kindergarten teachers and paraprofessionals get together each week for a meal.

“We’re a close-knit group, and that’s really helped — the fellowship over food,” Dean said.

Dean also pointed to Barb Campbell, Watkins’ parapro, as a big part of the classroom success.

“They work well together as a team,” Dean said.

In her fourth year as a kindergarten teacher after seven years in fourth grade, Watkins said she’s realized that the school’s youngest learners need a broader education that just reading, writing and arithmetic. Many of her students are getting their first school experience, so they need to be taught how to stand in line, share and be kind to their classmates.

Additionally, she hopes to discover what talents and interests children have so she can help them flourish, like last year’s class did with their book.

“I don’t want to limit them,” she said. “All of the kids come with different strengths, different abilities, and I just want to tap into those.”

While she sees being named the district’s top teacher as a big responsibility, she’s hoping she represents Houston County and Shirley Hills well.

“Every child deserves our best, and I want to make sure that I give it to them,” she said.

This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Houston Teacher of the Year ‘teaches the whole child,’ principal says."