Employees of the Year named

Posted Tuesday, May 23, 2006

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The Fulton County School System proudly announces its 2006-07 Employees of the Year. The annual tradition recognizes participating schools’ Teacher of the Year and School Professional of the Year, as well as the administrative offices’ Support Professionals of the Year. A formal recognition gala will be held next fall.

Three teachers are recognized as the overall Elementary, Middle, and High School Teacher of the Year, with the Fulton County Teacher of the Year chosen from those nominees. One overall School Professional of the Year is chosen from all of the participating schools, with the administrative offices’ also naming an overall Support Professional of the Year.

Nathifa Williams Carmichael from North Springs High School is Fulton County’s Overall Teacher of the Year. First named the system’s High School Teacher of the Year, she was then selected as the district winner from among two other Fulton County finalists: Karen Jones from Hembree Springs Elementary, who is the system’s Elementary School Teacher of the Year, and Deborah Polk from Taylor Road Middle, who is the Middle School Teacher of the Year.

Suresh Srinivasan, a technology specialist from Barnwell Elementary School, is the School Professional of the Year, and Michael Graham, lead supply person in the school system’s Warehouse, is the Support Professional of the Year.

Click here for School-level Teachers of the Year and School Professionals of the Year.

 

Nathifa Williams Carmichael – Overall Fulton County Teacher of the Year

An English teacher, Nathifa Williams Carmichael has taught high school students her entire career. She came to North Springs in 2004 after teaching in Florida and locally in Clayton County. Her teaching strategy focuses on connecting with students and helping them find value in what they learn. She strives to find a balance between instructing students in proper English skills and with teaching them to use language effectively for personal expression and real-world communication.

Illustrating this, she wrote in her Teacher of the Year application: “Educational articles cite the dichotomy between what high school teachers expect of their students and what college professors say they lack. Language arts students leave high school preoccupied with grammatical errors and lack an appreciation for clarity in writing. In the grand scheme of things, I am not here to teach a child not to use split infinitives and dangling participles; I am here to teach a child how to articulate her thoughts and ideas through language.”

Ms. Carmichael also says that “Real teaching is rarely easy. It is neither neat nor prescribed. It is an alchemy of passion, science, and art.” She challenges her fellow Fulton teachers to reevaluate what they do every day and to refocus the lens so that they not only see their standards but the larger scope of how they affect their students’ lives.

As the district’s overall 2006-07 Teacher of the Year, Ms. Carmichael now represents Fulton County in the Georgia Teacher of the Year program, which will announce a winner next spring.

 

Karen Jones – Elementary School Teacher of the Year

Karen Jones’ core beliefs about teaching are simple: guide, facilitate, and participate in the classroom, but never dominate the environment. She leads her students to discovery and to develop their own ideas and viewpoints.

As a fifth grade teacher at Hembree Springs Elementary School, Ms. Jones gets to know each child as an individual and as a student so she can assess their academic strengths and weaknesses, as well as their interests and motivators. In order to reach a wide range of learners –gifted, at-risk, ESOL, and special needs – all in the same classroom, she tailors her teaching style to the individual student and employs strategies that allow the students to work seamlessly together.

 

Deborah Polk – Middle School Teacher of the Year

Deborah Polk was a graduate student with law school aspirations when she discovered her true career interests were in education. She took a graduate teaching assistantship to offset her college tuition but the experience became much more – it ignited a desire to teach.

Instead of law school, Ms. Polk studied education and embarked on a journey that led to teaching middle school. She still remembers the excitement she felt on the first day of her teaching assistantship and tries to instill that same energy in her Honors Algebra class at Taylor Road Middle School. Her students respond to her enthusiasm and are engaged in activities that challenge their minds, teach perseverance, and build self-esteem.

 

Suresh Srinivasan – School Professional of the Year

Once he joined Barnwell Elementary in 2005, Technology Specialist Suresh Srinivasan immediately went to work on the school’s ailing computer labs, transforming them from under-utilized spaces into vibrant and exciting centers for learning. He strives to keep the school’s technology current and operational, a challenge due to the many service requests received daily and their urgent nature.

An MIT graduate, Mr. Srinivasan uses his business and analytical skills to identify and suggest technology improvements for the classroom. He also has conducted several web site training workshops for teachers and is a volunteer mentor to students who have difficulties with their academics.

Michael Graham – Support Professional of the Year

First named Warehouse Employee of the Year, Michael Graham has been named the system’s Support Professional of the Year over all five administrative satellite buildings. Mr. Graham oversees shipping functions within the school system’s 75,000-square-foot warehouse. His job and his personality are defined by one word – service. He takes timely delivery and quality of service very seriously; in fact, Mr. Graham personally visits schools and administrative sites to resolve any reported delivery concerns, rather than send a regular route driver.

As Lead Supply Person, Mr. Graham has earned the respect of the Warehouse staff, where he worked his way up through the ranks as a truck driver and receiving clerk. His supervisors note that he always demonstrates a high level of professionalism and customer service.

Four other central administrative employees were considered for overall Support Professional of the Year: Wade Smith, Transportation Employee of the Year; Deidre Lovelady, Jo Wells Center Employee of the Year; Judy Tinsley, Administrative Center Employee of the Year; and Faye Thompson, The Meadows Employee of the Year.

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