After 13 years of teaching at the Mill, English teacher, creative writing teacher, and journalism adviser Justin Spencer has earned Teacher of the Year. “I was teaching, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw them with the balloons and everything,” Spencer said. “Mr. [Allen] Leonard, a couple of other administrators, [Patt] Coleman, and the county technology [representative] came in with cameras and balloons during my second period class and announced it in the middle of class.”

Following the announcement, however, it took a while for his TOTY title to sink in. “I don’t want the perception to be that there is this hierarchy ‘because Spencer is better than so and so’. The way I have [processed] it more is by looking at it as this is an opportunity for me to go to the county level Teacher of the Year. I am going to that representing Starr’s Mill, and for my peers to put me in that position, is an honor,” Spencer said.

Naming the Fayette County Teacher of the Year is a multi-step process and starts with each public school in Fayette County selecting their TOTY. Once selected at the school level, the individual moves on to be selected from the other TOTY nominees for the county title. Before a county TOTY can be named, however, each school-level nominee must complete an application process.  According to the Fayette TOTY application packet, “a panel of two retired educators and last year’s Fayette TOTY winner assess the applications to narrow the field to three finalists. The same judging panel conducts interviews and classroom observations with the finalists.” The results remain disclosed until the evening of the TOTY celebration and “the 2017 Fayette TOTY will enter the 2019 Georgia TOTY competition, and if selected, will commit to all of the responsibilities that come with that honor.”  Fayette County Board of Education will announce the three semi-finalists on January 31.  The county-level winner will be revealed at the annual TOTY banquet held on April 20.

Although an honor resides in being Starr’s Mill’s TOTY, Spencer sees another honor that all three finalists at Starr’s Mill came from the English department. “Just seeing that all three finalists were from the English department speaks volumes about what happens here,” Spencer said. “To be part of that is really exciting, certainly. Just to know that your peers hear or see what you’re doing, is really exciting.”

Fellow finalist, English teacher and creative writing partner Jillian Bowen, said that the English department “works really, really hard to do interesting things and make learning fun for students.”

When it comes to Spencer’s colleagues, including finalists Juliana Wright and Bowen, an array of kind words were shared about Spencer. “[Spencer] always has an upbeat approach. He always has a positive attitude [and] he is always thinking of how to best reach his kids,” Bowen said.

Working with Spencer for 12 years has allowed Bowen to make several observations about Spencer, observations that she believes awarded him Teacher of the Year. “Spencer is always trying new things. He really gets kids and knows how to make things accessible to them,” Bowen said.

Spencer also thrives with students in the classroom. He is able to place a certain amount of enthusiasm that makes the students engaged. The exchange of enthusiasm and knowledge in the classroom allows him to truly teach his students. “Whenever I have a student come by and tell me what they learned in Spencer’s class, they can recall exactly what they learned in class that day,” Bowen said.

Fellow department teacher Katherine Tucker also teaches 10th grade and collaborates with Spencer regarding the 10th grade English curriculum. Over the past four years, Tucker has noticed that “whenever [her] students speak of [Spencer being their] past teacher, he is always spoken of highly.” Oftentimes, “he’s the teacher that made [my students] enjoy English,” Tucker said.

Several past students of Spencer had something to say on his achievement. “I was in no way, shape, or form surprised that he won Teacher of the Year. Throughout school, I have never met a more genuine teacher and the amount of people he has impacted with his work and the way he goes about it, makes him, in my opinion, the most deserving person for the title,” former creative writing student Jolene Berthold said.

She had Spencer for just her senior year, but despite the short amount of time, Berthold’s time in the class made an impact. “His kindness, intelligence, and ability to share wisdom is what I believe to be key in order to be good at your profession,” Berthold said. “I truly hope to impact others in the future with my profession as he did with his.”

Another former student, Olivia Tyler, said that Spencer’s classroom also made an impact on her life. “Since having him as a teacher, my confidence in my writing ability has grown so much, and I have blossomed in each of my literature classes in college because of him,” Tyler said. “He helped me realize my capabilities as a student and that nothing is impossible with a little extra work.”

Perhaps Spencer’s impact on his students lends itself to his teaching philosophy which has “evolved and changed over the past 13 years,” Spencer said. “If I had to tell you my philosophy, it’s simply ‘get out of the way’. It’s not about me. It’s about the students and meeting the students where they are and taking where they are educationally and helping them improve.”

As Spencer takes constant steps to help his students improve and grow, Principal Allen Leonard has seen Spencer’s efforts to continue improving himself. “[Spencer] is constantly looking for a way to do things better, even though he’s doing things very well,” Leonard said. “You don’t get to be Teacher of the Year by having many weaknesses and there are a lot of great things about Justin Spencer.”