TU Professor Named Teacher of the Year
Post Published On:A Thomas University Professor was named Bishop Hall Charter School’s Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Retha Lee, a Division of Education professor at TU, is also an English teacher at Thomas County-based Bishop Hall, where she was voted for by her peers to receive the prestigious award.
“I am honored and flattered to be recognized by my peers and to represent Bishop Hall,” she said. “I’ve been teaching a long time and it’s a blessing to receive this award.”
“Thank you for stepping up and being supportive at every level with colleagues, students, parents, and the principal,” Dr. Verna Wiggins, principal of Bishop Hall Charter School, said to Lee.
Lee has been an educator for 28 years. This is her third year as a teacher at Bishop Hall. She previously taught in Valdosta City Schools, Thomasville City Schools, and at Thomas County Middle School.
She joined TU in 2006 for a year, then returned in 2015 and has been at the University since, teaching undergraduate and graduate students. She is currently teaching a Reading Comprehension, Curricular, and Programmatic Strategies course.
“I hope that students realize that they can accomplish whatever they set their minds to,” Lee said. “TU is, in my opinion, one of the best universities for anyone looking to be an educator or/and pursuing a higher degree in education.”
Along with teaching at Bishop Hall and TU, she also teaches children who are homebound by spending up to two hours with them in their homes.
“I think to be an effective teacher and to be teaching for so long, not only do I have to love my students as human beings, but I have to love teaching,” she said. “I have to love my peers as well. I think you have to love what you do to be able to put a smile on a child’s face. If I put a smile on that one kid’s face, or they come to me for advice because they trust me, that means the world to me.”
Now that Lee has been named the Teacher of the Year at Bishop Hall, she will be competing against other teachers within the county who were named Teacher of the Year for their respective schools.
Once the Teacher of the Year is selected for Thomas County, that teacher will be competing against other teachers who won Teacher of the Year for their respective counties. Then a Teacher of the Year will be chosen to represent the state of Georgia and compete against teachers who were selected Teacher of the Year for their specific states to become National Teacher of the Year.
“I think to be named Teacher of the Year for Bishop Hall means that I am where I am supposed to be,” she said. “I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. God placed me where I am needed.”
