Melissa Castle – Parkwood Elementary School

Melissa Castle is the 2018-2019 Teacher of the Year for Parkwood Elementary School. 

Castle was born and raised in Byron and is a graduate of Peach County High School. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University. After graduating from Georgia Southern University she was hired onto Parkwood Elementary School, where she is now in her 12th year. During her teaching career, Castle graduated with her master’s degree from Georgia South Western University and her specialist degree from Valdosta State University. She taught first grade for six years at Parkwood, and the last six years she is the school’s media specialist.

Why teaching/What brought you into this field?

“My very first job I ever had was at Camp Vincent Valley as a camp counselor. That was first time working with kids and I loved every minute of it. When I began college, I thought I should go into a respectable field so I tried accounting and it was not for me. I wanted to do something that would make me happy and feel like I wasn’t going to ‘work.’ So I just thought you know, I love working with kids so much that teaching then seemed like the natural thing to do.”

Any inspiration from past teachers?

“I had a lot of teachers along the way I just loved. The thing I can remember most about any teacher that I really loved was not so much what they taught, but how they made you feel, and they made me feel valuable. That’s kind of my inspiration and I try to make the kids here feel the same way.”

What do you enjoy most about teaching?

“Well, being the librarian is different than when I was teaching. So it’s a littler harder time in building relationship with the students because instead of having a class of 20, I now see every student at the school. But that’s what I enjoyed in the classroom was those relationships. I really do enjoy watching the students grow as readers. It’s amazing thing to watch.”

What is the most challenging part of teaching?

“Again I would say it’s making that connection and building relationships with all the students. But I host three different clubs and enjoy them very much.”

Advice to students

“Work hard. You aren’t going to go many places if you are don’t put forth the effort. You have to work at everything in life, and if it takes you a little longer to understand something, it’s ok.”

Advice to parents

“Read with your kids everyday. Statistics show that those who are not read to ever and those read to daily, the difference is astounding. Studies show that kids who are read to daily perform better. Taking 10 to 20 minutes a day reading with your child really will make all the difference.”