FLAG Spotlight Congratulations Christy Belbey, Dacula High & Erica Poole, South Gwinnett High November 2011
Christy Belbey in Paris, France
I am delighted to write this Spotlight feature article on two dynamic foreign language teachers, both from Gwinnett County Public Schools, Christy Belbey, who teaches French at Dacula High, and Erica Poole, who teaches Spanish at South Gwinnett. Their incredible and innovative teaching styles and creative nature in the foreign language and education field have led these two great educators to receive the noble honor of Teacher of the Year at their respective schools. They were honored at the GCPS Teacher of the Year Banquet on November 3rd at the Gwinnett Civic Center.
Ms. Belbey has been teaching French since 1993, beginning at Stone Mountain Junior High and later in 1994 arriving to teach French at Dacula High School (levels I.–V.), plus she was the department chair from 2002 to 2005. During her years of teaching, she has garnered several honors, such as Georgia High School Teacher of the Year for the American Association Teachers of French (2009), local Teacher of the Year Finalist (2002, 2003, 2011), Teacher of the Month (May 2002), listing among Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers (1996, 1998), National Society of High School Scholars, Educator of Distinction (2008), and the GCPS Foreign Language Program PEAK Award in Exemplary Foreign Language Instruction (2008–2011). She earned her degrees in Georgia with an Associate of Arts, Liberal Arts from Young Harris College, Bachelor of Arts in French (1992), and a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Pedagogy (1999), both from Georgia State University. She attended the Universite de Montreal (summer 1990), Montreal, Quebec, Canada and earned her teaching certificate from Jacksonville University, Florida. (story continues on page 2)