TEACHER OF THE YEAR |
BY MISTY MILIOTO
Passion for Success STEPHEN GOODLY EMBODIES LEADERSHIP AS THE LOUISIANA STATE HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER OF THE YEAR.
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The EAST New Orleans
Excellence (2018), New Orleans Teacher of Excellence (2018), Chevron Teacher of the Week (2018), Teacher of the Year (2002, 2017), Stand for Children (2017), Mathematics Teacher of Distinction (2001) and Outstanding Teacher Tandy Technology Scholars (1996). Although he has received these accolades, his greatest accomplishments come from the comments he receives from children, such as “You are the reason I like math.” One particular instance that exemplifies Goodly’s work with students actually had nothing to do with math. Instead, a student that he mentored was honored as king of the school’s cotillion; he looked sharp in his white tuxedo, gold cape and crown. However, the soles of his white shoes came unglued. “We tried gluing them back together,” Goodly says. “We even contacted the tuxedo company to bring another pair. I told him to wear my shoes. He told me, ‘No, your shoes are black; I have on a white tuxedo with white shoes.’ I told him, ‘If you wear my shoes, no one will notice, and, if they do, it will stand out and you will look good.’ He
put my shoes on, and I walked around with no shoes. Eventually, almost an hour later, after his entrance and performance, another pair of shoes was brought for him to wear. When I tried to get my shoes back, he did not want to switch. I ended up wearing the white shoes for the rest of the event.” Goodly now serves as the 9th Grade Academy Principal for McDonogh 35 Senior High School (from which he graduated in 1987). As a native of New Orleans East, he has lived in the Michoud, Castle Manor and Spring Lake/Kenilworth area. In addition to his strong stance on education, he also believes New Orleans East — once home to Lincoln Beach, Six Flags and The Plaza — has enormous potential for growth. “I have a growth and hope mindset, and, as long as I embody these qualities, New Orleans East can expand to be a pillar of the entire New Orleans community,” Goodly says. While education is his main focus, Goodly also loves to reach, play chess and pray. Once his youngest child graduates from college, he plans to retire and travel the world with his wife.
PHOTO BY CHERYL GERBER
It should come as no surprise that 2019 Louisiana State High School Teacher of the Year, Stephen Goodly, cares deeply about educating America’s youth. He believes that all children deserve a quality education so that they are equipped to obtain any job they so choose. “This may sound cliché, but I truly believe the children are our future,” he says. “My belief is that the biggest investment that one can make is investing in children. All schools, educators and stakeholders should work toward ensuring that all children, regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, religion and sexual orientation, receive the best education possible.” As a math teacher for the past 25 years, Goodly has always had the primary focus of building relationships with his students and serving as a role model for young men. It is this focus that Goodly believes led him to being named as the State High School Teacher of the Year for his work at Warren Easton Charter High School. “Many of the males that I have encountered have come from homes where they were raised by a single mother, or their father was either incarcerated or deceased,” Goodly says. “It became extremely important to me that I model and teach them how to be men. Teaching young men how to respect themselves and others has always been important to me, mainly because of the incarceration rate for African American males.” Over the years, Goodly has earned numerous awards for his work in education, including the Shirley Solomon Teacher of
