Hey everyone! I am so excited to be the Ed Prep/Teacher Academy Instructor. I LOVE teaching and I love Lawrence County! I am a product of Monticello Elementary, Monticello Junior High, and Lawrence County High School. My professional career started in the Lawrence County School District in August 2007 after graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. My very first year was spent teaching 5^th grade Reading at Rod Paige Middle School. I immediately began the journey to further my education after my first year of teaching. I also hold a Master’s Degree in Education with a special emphasis in Gifted Education from William Carey University. My second year, I taught 2^nd and 3^rd grade Gifted at Monticello Elementary School. From 2009 until 2021, I taught kindergarten at Topeka Tilton Attendance Center. I went back into the Gifted Education world until 2022. Currently, I am the Ed Prep/Teacher Academy Instructor at the Lawrence County Technology and Career Center. I have the honor of sharing my love of teaching with students that are interested in the best profession in the world, teaching children! I plan to be an adjunct instructor through William Carey University and teach two dual enrollment classes to Ed Prep/Teacher Academy students this year.

I am a life-long resident of Lawrence County. I have been happily married to Daniel Turner for 18 years. We have 2 children, Hunter and Jake. I also have hundreds of former students that will always be my babies. I enjoy spending time with my family on a ballfield. This is where you will find us most of the time. We love baseball and football in our house! SMTTT! We are active members of Topeka Baptist Church. I love my church family. Our family is also volunteers for the Lawrence County Fire Service. I am a National Board Certified EMT. Even though I do not practice in this profession, I continue to keep up with my education and keep my license current.

Twenty years after graduating from Lawrence County High School, I found my way back to the same campus teaching a course that I absolutely love. Ed Prep/Teacher Academy gives me a chance to focus in on why I became a teacher and have a bigger impact on the education profession. Teachers impact so many lives every single day. I know everyone has meaningful stories from their own childhood that most likely involved a teacher. I am so blessed to do what I do. Being a teacher is very rewarding to me because I have the chance to know and have influence on hearts and minds of those that enter my classroom. I take the moments I have within those four walls to share what I know on an educational level and also to show each student how important he/she is to me and others.

I was privileged to hear Mrs. Rita Pierson, a former educator with over 40 years of experience, speak at a conference years ago before she passed away. She made an impact on me that day. I will leave you with this quote.

“Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be. -Rita Pierson

This is my why. This is why I do what I do. I am excited to teach and create future champions within my classroom!