Photo courtesy of Justin Bartholomew
Christopher Atkins was named Northwood’s 2017-2018 Teacher of the Year Feb. 21. He has been teaching high school students since 2003, and has been teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at Northwood for a little over five years.
Principal Justin Bartholomew, 2016-2017 Teacher of the Year Jennifer Parks and other administration walked into Atkins’ classroom to honor him, awarded him with flowers and take photographs. Bartholomew described how Atkins reacted after figuring out the big news.
“He was definitely shocked,” Bartholomew said. “In his classroom, Mrs. Seed is in there helping out with his first period class, so when I walked in, she saw me and she was just like, ‘No, no way’ out of excitement. Mr. Atkins just took it in stride with a big smile on his face.”
The election process for Teacher of the Year goes through various stages. Teachers that are qualified for the position are put into a list, and a ballot is sent to teachers. From there, they go through and nominate who they think is deserving, and then once the nominees have been narrowed down, they are sent an essay topic. This year’s essay topic was, “What were the factors that influenced you to become a teacher? Describe what you consider to be your greatest contributions and accomplishments in education.”
Atkins mentioned that he was awed after being given the title of Teacher of the Year.
“I was very honored and very pleased, and I treat it as a sort of support for the students that I work with, who often feel not part of the school and not part of the system,” Atkins said.
ESL involves the same subject matter of a standard English class, but with a more limited syllabus. The students learn strategies to advance their reading, writing and pronunciation skills.
Victor Gomez, a senior who has had English with Atkins for all four years, said he has enjoyed having Atkins as his teacher.
“He’s down to earth,” Gomez said. “If you have any problems, he will help you, but he explains everything in a different way than other teachers. He really brings you into the story and reads it in a way that he makes it interesting, so you understand it better.”
English teacher Jill Jackl, who has been co-workers with Atkins for four years, explained one way in which Atkins excels at his position.
“He is an effective teacher because he understands the importance of a relationship with his students,” Jackl said. “In the material that he teaches, because he has language-challenged students, that relationship is everything, and he understands that and is very good at it.”
Bartholomew commented about how Atkins stands out as an ESL teacher.
“Just walk into his classroom,” Bartholomew said. “He uses a whole bunch of different approaches. Language is a big piece when you’re teaching this area, but he also makes sure that they get exposed not only to the language here but also the social norms. He teaches them about what the culture around here is about; not just American culture, but right down to Pittsboro culture, so he makes sure that they are exposed to everything.”
Atkins described his favorite part about coming to school every morning.
“My favorite part about being a teacher is seeing the students do well,” Atkins said. “When you get students who come in with no English, and then you see them a couple of years later and see that they’re doing really well, that is the satisfaction that most teachers get.”
Gomez explained how his relationship with Atkins has developed over the years.
“As a freshman, he started off yelling at us because we wouldn’t do our homework,” Gomez said. “It built up to him knowing what we’re capable of doing. He knows our life stories, and it is really cool. If something is going on, like in politics, he’ll come up and talk to you about it. He has shown me that just because I’m Hispanic does not mean that I cannot become a role model or a leader in this school.”
Bartholomew explained the duties of the Teacher of the Year, and where the whole process will go from here.
“There are actually more responsibilities than there are perks,” Bartholomew said. “Basically, your peers have said, ‘Yeah, you are the person for us. You are our representative.’ If he is selected between all the other Teachers of the Year, he then has to answer many more prompts. It is challenging because it is a regional competition, and he has to run up against all these other teachers who are also fabulous. Some perks [include that] he will be recognized if he gets Teacher of the Year for our district at [an event] at the end of the year for retirees and Teacher of the Year.”
– By Briana Stone
