Percy picked as educator of year

Published 11:51 pm Monday, May 14, 2007

When he slipped a note asking the bank teller to “stall” Monday afternoon, Stephen Gregg said he was afraid his cohort, Carol Percy, might think she was in the middle of a heist.

However, Gregg’s note was merely another means to waylay Percy — just like a later trip to the dry cleaner’s — all in an attempt to keep her away from Westwood Elementary School.

While Gregg kept Percy busy, members of the Dalton Education Foundation and Westwood staffers arranged a secret ceremony in which she would be presented the Tom Jones Educator of the Year Award.

Gregg, also a Westwood teacher, had told Percy he needed her to co-sign a check for him. At the end of the ruse, Percy, a 27-year educator, was surprised to receive the award, especially with two of her children among about 20 family members in the large crowd of supporters filling the school’s media center.

“I was wondering why Mr. Gregg was driving around in circles,” said Percy, a first-grade teacher. “It’s truly an honor to receive any award with Mr. Jones’ name on it. He was truly an ambassador for Dalton Public Schools. When I was a first-year teacher just back from Auburn, he’d call me up to ask if I needed any help and to pump me up with his great sense of humor.”

Anyone who has been teaching at least three years in Dalton may be nominated for the award, according to Jean Lowrey, executive director of the Dalton Education Foundation. The judging is done by an independent, out-of-town panel. After being nominated, teachers fill out their own qualification forms, denoting their philosophies of teaching; their relationship with students, parents and the community; and their accomplishments.

Percy follows Blue Ridge principal Phil Jones in winning the award. Her school receives $1,000, and Percy personally receives a $3,000 cash prize. She said she’d almost not completed her application forms after being nominated.

“I’d been nominated in years past, and I almost didn’t fill out my forms this year. I didn’t do it until after (husband) Frank and I went out for Chinese food. My fortune cookie said, ‘You will be rewarded for your creative talent,’” Percy laughed. “I’ve been rewarded daily here. The Lord blessed me by placing me here at Westwood.”

Percy was presented the award by Kevin Wright, foundation president, and Trisha Bethel and Cathy Rauschenberg, daughters of Jones, a 26-year member of the Dalton Board of Education and its chairman for 22 of those years. They read Percy’s accolades from a “story book,” much as Percy would do for her students, and described the journey of learning Percy undertakes with her students.

“Carol teaches her students to build organizational as well as reading and writing skills. She believes in exploration, not memorization,” Bethel said. “She teaches values and citizenship through active community service projects.”

Percy was joined by husband Frank, son Frank Percy III and daughter Ansley Harrison, a first-grade teacher in Statesboro who had visited over the Mother’s Day weekend and who surprised her mom by taking a day off on Monday. Son Chip lives in San Antonio, Texas.

“I just have a love for the children in my class. First grade is such an important time for them,” Percy said. “I work every day to inspire them and instill a love of learning. I want to start them off so they aspire to go higher and higher.”