From student to staff

From student to staff

Clarke Central High School alumni reflect on their experiences moving from student to staff positions.

Above: CLASS OF 2002: Clarke Central High School social studies department teacher Kalli James-Wyrick works with CCHS freshman Jose Manuel Alejandro on Jan. 24. Wyrick graduated from CCHS in 2002 and recently returned as a teacher. “I enjoyed my time (at CCHS) for the most part besides the typical high school drama, and I thought Athens was a nice place to live,” James-Wyrick said. “It was pretty nice to be in an environment that I already knew (when I) started out teaching, because teaching is really hard and to have that kind of safety net a little bit in your first year is kind of nice.” Photo by Gerardo Navarro

STORY BY MAGGIE KELLEHER News Staffer PHOTOS BY GERARDO NAVARRO Photographer

Out of 185 teachers and staff working at Clarke Central High School, 14 of them attended CCHS when they were students. Having attended the school, these teachers hold unique insights into current students’ day-to-day experience. For some CCHS teachers, including science department teacher Roenessa Witcher, returning to CCHS was not their original plan.

“After I graduated from Piedmont (College) and finished my student teaching, I always wanted to teach outside of Athens,” Witcher said. “Because, I mean, this is where I grew up. I just wanted to experience something different.”

However, according to CCHS physical education teacher Alex Holmes, his positive experience as a student at CCHS immediately sparked his interest in pursuing a teaching career at his alma mater.

“I always wanted to come back for sure to see what it was like. You graduate from your high school and, regardless of what your experience is, it’s still a part of you,” Holmes said. “I had an overall pretty good experience, so (I) wanted to come back and try to give back and try to be a positive influence.”

Name: Latoya Hill Position: CCHS Principal’s secretary GRaduation year: 1996

Why did you want to work in a school? “I say this (job) is kind of the best of both worlds because I do get that administrative clerical side, but then also, I think part of my assignment in life is to reach and teach young people. So it gives me the ability to do that, as well. Every day I am working hard for the teachers and making sure that their pay is right and their this and their that, but also I say hello to the students that come in the office and try to listen to whatever they want to tell me -- and sometimes it’s problems. They come to my desk for any and everything. So I always say, ‘I only have two children at home, but then I have 1,800 (at CCHS).’ So it’s a lot, and I really am grateful for the opportunity every day to come here. I get up ready to come to work unlike most people. It’s a joy.”

How has Clarke Central changed since you were here? “I think, a lot of the time, just the basic fun that we used to have is not there. Like pep rallies and fun stuff, and I want to bring some of that back so you all actually enjoy being here and make great memories here. So, that’s kind of my personal mission is to make sure that it’s fun. There’s nothing wrong with getting college credit and taking AP courses, but I think it really does need to be balanced, and ours was more of that socially. We did go to the homecoming dances and the prom, and some kids here don’t even think that’s important. So, it’s different.”

What is it like to work at a school that you have attended? “I kind of know the background of what the school is all about. I feel that that helps me better connect with the kids because I’ve walked the same halls and known some of the same people that you all are dealing with now. Some of the teachers here graduated (from) here in the same time period that I was here. Ms. (Emily) Hulse is a graduate, (and so is) Ms. (Latoya) Jewel. There’s a lot of people who are here that were homegrown here. I think that gives us a connection different than some other people have because we’re fully vested in this place that is Clarke Central.”

Name: Emily Hulse position: Foreign language department chair Graduation YEar: 1995

Why did you want to work in a school? “I taught English in France for (a year). After that year was finished, I came back to Athens, and I was kind of trying to figure out my next move. Was I going to go directly to grad school? Was I going to try to find a job? If so, what job? And then I heard that the French teacher who I had (at Clarke Central) was leaving kind of unexpectedly in the middle of summer. So they needed a French teacher (at) Clarke Central, and I was like, ‘Well, I just came back from spending a year in France. That was my second of two years in France. I speak fluently and feel good about that part of it. Do I want to teach it? I don’t know.’ But I did have that little taste of teaching it in France for that one little year, and I had a great year.”

How has Clarke Central changed since you were here? “I feel like there may have been more school spirit back in the day than now, but that wasn’t the case for everyone. For example, during the Homecoming Spirit Week here this year, I don’t feel like people really participated very much at all. I don’t know if that was just my perception (of ) the students that I happen to see didn’t and others did. But that’s just kind of the impression I got. Back in the day, students (and) teachers really participated in stuff like dress up days and getting excited about games. There is definitely (a) certain amount of that still today. But just that school pride, I don’t know if it’s quite as strong as it was back in the ‘90s.”

What is it like to work at a school that you have attended? “It was only strange the first month or so. That first month, that was very strange, because it really hadn’t been that long since I had been a student when I started teaching. I didn’t feel like I could go behind the counter or go into the back of the library. I didn’t think I was allowed because I still had that student mindset, but that faded and it didn’t take long for it to just feel like a different place in a way. When you have a different position, it feels totally different.”

Name: Adam Lowe position: Ninth grade counselor Graduation YEar: 2011

Why did you want to work in a school? “I think having a parent that was a special (education) teacher (made me want to). He showed me the pros of it, but he also kind of showed me the struggle that being a teacher is. So I wanted to be in a school system. I always knew I wanted to work with kids and young adults. So finding my way into working with students, and helping build up their future, their dreams, their passions, I think that’s always something that was in my mind, but how it came to be was finding my own strengths and then finding a route to help students.”

How has Clarke Central changed since you were here? “It’s gotten bigger. I think it’s gotten a lot nicer. Like yellow tile was a real thing. It was tile that used to be white that turned yellow. It was a real thing. Lockers were a thing. Smart boards were just coming into fashion when I was in high school, so now everything’s technology-based. I don’t know. I feel like there is a lot more like student activist groups. I think that’s really powerful. So, I think that’s been something I’ve been impressed with, especially as Clarke Central has moved forward. I think the advocacy piece for students to express themselves has been a great improvement. So, I think that’s a really positive thing about Clarke Central.”

What is it like to work at a school that you have attended? “It’s surreal. Ms. (Becky) Begnaud was my teacher. Ms. (Valinda) Miller down the hallway was my teacher. Mr. (David) Ragsdale was my teacher. So it’s surreal working with them as a colleague, and as a student. And the transition has been more seamless than I thought. Because you’ll be surprised when you’re in high school, you’re a certain way but as you mature, you change. But there’s still a part of you that you still remember in that instance.”

Name: Kalli James-Wyrick position: Social studies department teacher Graduation YEar: 2002

Why did you want to work in a school? “I really liked working with kids. When I was in fifth grade at Alps Road (Elementary School), I mentored students in third grade, and I would work in after school when my mom was the after school director. So I would go do homework help and stuff. And then I did a youth apprenticeship program through Clarke Central where I taught at Alps Road during first period instead of coming here. I really enjoyed teaching and seeing people learn, helping people work through problems and stuff like that cause I’m good at that stuff. I just really liked the interaction with younger people.” How has Clarke Central changed since you were here? “We’ve remodeled, so a lot of stuff looks nicer. We don’t have lockers anymore, cause they’re kind of unnecessary now, since most classes don’t have a textbook, so there’s no reason to really have a locker. I didn’t even have a locker for two years when I was here, and we had textbooks and stuff to carry around. So it makes the halls a lot nicer, cause they were pretty dingy. There’s been a lot of improvements with the greenhouses and stuff like that looking nice. And just the new ROTC building. But as far as the care and abilities of teachers, they’re the same. We always had pretty good teachers.”

What is it like to work at a school that you have attended? “It’s really fun. Students like it. It’s a good way for me to build relationships with students, especially since I bring my yearbooks to class. They get a kick looking at it, and a lot of them are related to people that I went to school with. Like I’ve got students whose parents I graduated with or went to school (with). I’ve got one in my third period right now (whose) mom graduated with me.”

Name: Demetrius Edwards position: Government special education teacher Graduation YEar: 2007

Why did you want to work in a school? “When you see a kid get it, when you ask them a question and they’re finally like, ‘Oh, that’s what that means.’ I think that is the biggest part. Seeing their faces light up when they actually get something. I like seeing that. And it’s the same with coaching. When a kid actually gets it and does something well, it’s a sense of, ‘OK, I helped them get that.’ It’s more about wanting the child to be better than you and (have) more opportunities than you did. I think that’s what made me want to come back here and what made me want to teach.”

How has Clarke Central changed since you were here? “How many kids go here for one. It’s amazing to see how much the community has grown from when I was in high school to now and how many more kids go here and the fact that the building is pretty much the same size and seeing how all these kids fit into the school every day. It’s pretty cool. But it’s crazy to see it, how much it’s growing, and the fact that it’s still growing.”

What is it like to work at a school that you have attended? “It has its fun moments, (and) it has its difficult moments at the same time. You see a kid that you might have known for a long time, and you have to actually discipline them sometimes. It’s like, ‘You know I know your parents. I went to school with your parents.’ So you have to remove the fact that you actually know the kid outside of school. So that could be the hard part, but it’s also a good part cause you can get them to listen to you sometimes a little bit better because you know them outside of school. It can be good and bad.”

Name: William Lance Position: Paraprofessional in the L.I.D. department GRaduation year: 2010

Why did you want to work in a school? “I joined the Marine Corps right out of high school, and then I went to college, and then I worked for a tire company, and I just wasn’t happy with it. Then I was coaching, and I really enjoyed that. And then I started thinking like, ‘What’s going to be more meaningful to you? Just working this job that you hate? Or do you want to try to do something that you feel like maybe you’re making a positive difference?’ Enough people whispered in my ear, ‘You need to go do this and be a teacher.’ So, I was like, the worst that happens is I fall flat on my face.”

How has Clarke Central changed since you were here? “We’re trying to get students to talk through things and actually open up about their feelings. You can tell that it’s being driven more by students. The focus is on students, whereas before it was kind of just like, you come to school, you’re learning, get out. I feel like the culture is different in the sense that they understand that y’all have issues going on. There’s more to this than school, and they’re trying to prepare y’all for life by doing those things.”

What is it like to work at a school that you have attended? “I enjoy it. I feel like I have skin in the game. So I feel like I care more than maybe the average person. And not that anyone here doesn’t care about what they do -- I just feel like I take pride in the fact that this is my community. This is where I went. This is where I’m from. I want to make a difference here, so that helps me out.” O