Bibb County’s teacher of the year has strong roots in Macon, Northeast High
Northeast High School students returned to classrooms Monday morning, and teacher LaTanya Singleton Clark was there to greet them. The healthcare science teacher knows exactly what it’s like on the first day of school for Northeast students: she used to be one.
The Bibb County School District product has been teaching since 2012, and has been with the district since 2016. Last week, she was named Bibb schools’ 2021-22 teacher of the year during convocation, recognition she said was “unbelievable,” even if it was well-deserved.
“I’m still living in the moment, I’m actually on cloud nine still; I keep pinching myself to see if it’s real,” Clark said.
Back to Northeast
Clark’s path back to a Northeast classroom wasn’t a straight line. She spent almost two decades in radiology technologist, real world experience her students now benefit from.
“I give 120% to my students, because I was once where they are, sitting in those chairs. I was that student, so I know what they need to be able to be the person I want them to be, and that they want to be,” she said.
Northeast assistant principal Jarred Moore has a piece of advice that resonates with Clark: “Be the teacher you needed when you were in school.”
“I make sure that every day I go into my class and teach my students to make sure they feel not only like they’re able to grasp the lessons, but to also make sure they feel loved and cared for,” she said. “They’re going to notice somebody in their corner, and that they’re not going to give up on them, no matter what.”
Face-to-face
While Clark said she plans to use the creative and technological skills she learned during virtual instruction last year, she’s ready to build relationships in person. She said some students struggled with virtual learning.
“I’m excited because I get to see my students face-to-face, and I get to build those relationships with my student,” Clark said. “You use that as your stepping stone to get to the next level of where you want to take your education in your classroom.”
The other teacher of the year finalists were Lacey Barnes, Burdell-Hunt Magnet School; Chef Stuart Hardy, W.S. Hutchings College & Career Academy; Marissa Rondina, Rutland High School; and Cindy Quan Hong, Springdale Elementary School.