Nancy Williamson Andrews, who spent the last 30 years of her teaching career at Parklane Academy and retired in May, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at Tuesday’s teacher appreciation banquet at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
The event was hosted by the Pike County Chamber of Commerce and sponsored, in part, by AT&T.
Andrews was introduced by Parklane principal Linda Love, who called her a wonderful teacher and role model who loved practical jokes and was dedicated to her profession.
“I have known her in many roles,” Love said, adding that Andrews taught her daughter, then became Love’s fellow teacher, and finally, Love was Andrews’ principal at Parklane.
Love said Andrews could always be expected to do the unexpected — like turning cartwheels down the school hall after school let out for the summer. However, Love said one of Andrews’ practices was constant.
“She could not begin class without reapplying her lipstick after lunch,” Andrews said to laughs from the audience of more than 120 teachers and administrators.
“I would describe her as really hard-working, serious, but also really funny. She was always willing to do what was asked of her,” Love said.
When Andrews accepted the award, she demonstrated her humor by stating, “I’d like to thank Steven Spielberg and the Academy.”
Then in a serious turn, she said, “I’m humbled and honored.”
And she said the staff at Parklane had made the past 30 years of teaching something to enjoy.
Before Andrews accepted her honor, the audience heard from SMCC president Dr. Oliver Young, who praised teachers for preparing students for higher education.
Superintendents of Pike County schools — Billy Swindle of Parklane, Dr. Bill Gunnell of South Pike, Dr. Ben Cox of North Pike and Therese Palmertree of the McComb School District — also spoke, as did Martez Hill, deputy state superintendent of education.
Swindle drew comparisons
between teaching and strong bamboo roots.
“How much can we teach our students?” he asked. “As much as they can learn.”
Gunnell said exciting things are happening at South Pike. He invited people to visit the campus to see what the district has to offer.
Palmertree, stating that she was “the new kid on the block,” said being interim superintendent at McComb has been “an extraordinary experience.”
“I’ve been very touched by two things tonight,” she said to the teachers gathered. “All our educators from Pike County are here together. You are all from Pike County. Too often we focus on our differences. I’ve come to find out we all want the same thing… There are so many ways we are alike. … You enjoy joy and awe in children, regardless of their age.”
Cox spoke about the Character Counts program at North Pike, where juniors and seniors take time out with younger students to teach them needed qualities, such as trustworthiness, responsibility, caring and citizenship.
“The kids love it, and older students learn how to teach others,” Cox said. “What feels good about teaching is how it feels for someone to learn something. It feels great to know you taught someone, to grab that enthusiasm.”
Hill said the state has specific goals to reduce dropout rates by 50 percent in the next five to seven years, with each district developing its own dropout team of teachers, parents, community leaders and faith-based organizations.
The state also is working to bring up scores to reach the national average on the “nation’s report card” in the next five to seven years.
Hill gave five strategies for reaching those goals:
• Increase the rigor of curriculum and assessment, particularly as the state moves to increased mandated testing standards
• Increase the quality and quantity of teachers, making sure they’re ready for the classroom when they leave college and enter the teaching profession.
• Increase the quantity and quality of administrators. It’s no secret, Hill said, that great schools usually have great leaders.
• Create a culture in Mississippi where people appreciate the value of an education.
• Redesign education for the 21st century, making sure kids are introduced to technology in the lower grades, and teaching them how to apply technology in their everyday lives.
Hill said state education officials are pushing a legislative agenda that includes:
• Full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Plan, not just in election years, but every year.
• Additional money for students who are at-risk of failure.
• Pre-kindergarten funding for district programs.
• A program that provides mentors for teachers, especially at the middle school level.
• Full funding for high school redesign, a pilot program that has been developed in 14 school districts in the state.
• A 3 percent pay raise for fiscal year 2008-09, plus increased teacher increments from 25 to 30 years for retirement to retain good instructors.
