March 5, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
The 2019 DeKalb County Teacher of the Year is Linda Parris, a Family and Consumer Science/Culinary Arts teacher at DCHS.
Parris received the “John Isabell Memorial Award” Tuesday night during the twelfth annual Teacher of the Year banquet at the Smithville First Baptist Church Life Enrichment Center.
(DIRECTOR OF SCHOOLS PATRICK CRIPPS, LIBERTY STATE BANK’S ROY NELSON PUGH, AND LORI ISABELL INTRODUCE DEKALB COUNTY TEACHER OF THE YEAR LINDA PARRIS IN VIDEO BELOW)
The award and a check for $150 was presented to Parris by Roy Nelson Pugh of Liberty State Bank, a sponsor of the banquet, along with Director of Schools Patrick Cripps and Lori Isabell. John Isabell who passed away in 2014, was Lori’s husband and the DeKalb County Teacher of the Year award is named in his honor. John Isabell was a long time educator and former President of the DeKalb County Education Association.
(DCHS PRINCIPAL RANDY JENNINGS INTRODUCES DCHS TEACHER OF THE YEAR LINDA PARRIS IN VIDEO BELOW)
“I want to thank everybody in the community. I want to thank God for giving me the strength each day to get up and go to the classroom. I want to thank my students. They are awesome and do come from different backgrounds. I also want to thank my administrators and the parents. Thank you very much,” said Paris.
(ACTING SMITHVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL ANITA PUCKETT INTRODUCES SES TEACHER OF THE YEAR VICKY HAWKER IN VIDEO BELOW)
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Parris, who is in her 22nd year as a teacher at DCHS, was among five local educators who were recognized during the banquet for being chosen by peers as “Teacher of the Year” at their schools. The others were Justin Nokes, seventh grade World History teacher at DeKalb Middle School; first grade teacher Vicky Hawker at Smithville Elementary School; fifth grade teacher Cheryl Vandagriff at Northside Elementary School; and Jessica Antoniak, a sixth grade math and science teacher at DeKalb West School.
(NORTHSIDE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL KAREN KNOWLES INTRODUCES NORTHSIDE TEACHER OF THE YEAR CHERYL VANDAGRIFF IN VIDEO BELOW)
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Administrators introduced the Teachers of the Year at their schools, remarked on how they deserved the honor, and presented them with a school bell award.
(DEKALB WEST SCHOOL PRINCIPAL SABRINA FARLER INTRODUCES DWS TEACHER OF THE YEAR JESSICA ANTONIAK IN VIDEO BELOW)
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School board members attending were W.J. (Dub) Evins, III, Danny Parkerson, Alan Hayes, Shaun Tubbs, and Kate Miller.
(DEKALB MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL AMANDA DAKAS INTRODUCES DEKALB MIDDLE TEACHER OF THE YEAR JUSTIN NOKES IN VIDEO BELOW)
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“Our district’s Teacher of the Year program recognizes and honors outstanding teachers in DeKalb County. We applaud teachers who care about our children, who devote their professional lives to enriching the lives of DeKalb students, and who demonstrate exceptional gains in student achievement. We are not just exceptionally proud of our Teachers of the Year, but we are also grateful for all of our educators in DeKalb County,” said Director Patrick Cripps.
As the Family and Consumer Science/Culinary Arts teacher, Parris oversees a program at DCHS in which students engage in lab-based, hands-on training in the art of cooking and hospitality management. They create new recipes, cater events in the local area, and bridge the gap between high school and postsecondary education by completing industry certifications.
Parris, this year’s DCHS Teacher of the Year, started her journey there as an educator 22 years ago. “This is my 22nd year at DCHS. The first 15 years I was a Home Economics/Family and Consumer Science Teacher. When former Family and Consumer Science teacher Harriett Cantrell retired she said I needed to get busy and obtain my culinary endorsement for those classes at the high school. I added that endorsement within a year and we moved to her room and we have transformed her room from a home kitchen to a commercial kitchen. That was seven years ago,” said Parris.
Under Parris’ leadership, the culinary arts and hospitality program at DCHS earned the school a “2016 Elite 50 Award” from Sullivan University, one of only three Tennessee schools to receive the honor that year. The Elite 50 list each year includes high schools and tech centers that excel in the areas of culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and/or hospitality management.
So what’s a typical day like in Linda Parris’ classroom?
“It depends on what day it is,” said Parris. “Today (Monday) we did uniform alterations for the basketball game. We may clean a tower garden or add water to a tower garden. We are excited because we have three or four peppers on our tower garden ready to be harvested. I may be testing students on the chrome books. We may be in the lab preparing meals for different events at the school or in the community. We take their skills learning in other classes and we’re connecting them to the real world showing them where they are going to be using those skills. Each day is a new day. We never know what it will bring,” said Parris.
Although a resident of Warren County, Parris is quick to add that her home is only a stone’s throw from DeKalb County.
She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Tennessee Tech University and she has a Master’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. Parris also added her culinary arts endorsement from MTSU.
In addition to her teaching duties at DCHS, she serves as advisor for the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Club.
Parris said she counts it an honor to be the DCHS Teacher of the Year. “I was shocked and very fortunate that my peers voted this honor upon me. I have many peers who are just as deserving of this award as I am”.
Asked how she felt about being named DeKalb County Teacher of the Year, Parris said “It is exciting and amazing. I feel honored to represent my career in technical education,” she added.