Members of the Future Georgia Educators recently attended the State Leadership Conference at Georgia Gwinnett College. During the opening ceremony, students heard from Georgia Teacher of the Year Finalist, Jamie Lynn McFarland. McFarland teaches special education students in Gwinnett County. She spoke about the importance of reaching out to students in different ways and finding individual methods of motivating them. “My students may not learn to do things in the same way as their typically developing peers, but I am committed to figuring out a way for them to be involved and a way for them to learn,” she said.

Several students also competed in different events. Hannah Cruse won the district competition for her essay, “The Homework Debate,” and went on to win the Silver Medal for second place at the state level. Dixie Alexander’s T-shirt design also qualified for the state competition and took the Silver Medal at the state level. In addition, Dixie Alexander was chosen to read her speech on why she has chosen a career in teaching, and she was able to read it at the opening session of the state conference.

Photo #1:  Allen Kline, Waylon Arrowood, Jessica Westcott, Tasia Galloway, Kendall Postell, Emily Garrison, Kaylin Contardi, Faith Swartzell, Hannah Cruse, Dixie Alexander, Aly Hawkins, Emily Queen, and Shayna Bowyer.

Photo #2: Dixie Alexander

Photo #3: Dixie Alexander and Hannah Cruse