TWIGGS COUNTY, Ga. — Two Central Georgia teachers are finalists for 2022 Georgia Teacher of the Year.
Jeffersonville Elementary School kindergarten teacher Jennifer Smith gravitated to early childhood education in college, and has now been teaching for 15 years.
"I see myself as really helping set that foundation. Teaching them the basic skills that they need. Not only the academic skills, but hopefully those social emotional skills that they'll need as they progress," Smith said.
She's helped create a 36-week pre-k curriculum used across the state and kindergarten tests for a company called Jenkins Assessments. Her expertise was crucial when students returned in-person, where she saw they fell behind in subjects like writing.
"We were able to teach them in a way that they could understand what we were talking about. They met those standards. They became more proficient in those areas and now, they're ready to go forward," Smith said.
She's a finalist for the 2022 Georgia Teacher of the Year along with Southwest Laurens Elementary School 5th grade teacher Matthew Taylor.
"My approach is loving first and teaching second, because I believe in building that connection because if you have that connection, you can teach them anything and they'll be receptive of it," Taylor said.
While teaching virtually, Taylor created YouTube videos doing science experiments, and even drove by his students' houses to help with math.
"There were several instances where I would take dry erase boards to the kids houses and teach them math lessons if they needed help with a math problem. I have a big one, it's in the back of my room now, but I would hold it up from the car and just teach from the car," he said.
They now make up two of the 10 finalists across the state.
"I'm very grateful for the opportunity and I'm honored to not only represent our district, but especially our school," Smith said.
"Laurens County is truly getting the recognition they finally deserve because we go above and beyond for our kids everyday and it's a true test to what our teachers do, so it's a true testament to them," Taylor said.
Smith has a bachelors degree from Mercer University and a masters degree from Georgia College.
Taylor has a bachelors from Middle Georgia College, which is now Middle Georgia State University, and he received his masters from Georgia College on the Macon campus.
The winner for Georgia Teacher of the Year will be announced on Aug. 7.