With only two years of experience in the teaching profession, Jones Middle School English teacher Marquita McCullum is seeing what diligence and dedication to the profession and her students can accomplish. For McCullum, one of those accomplishments was being named the Laurel School District Teacher of the Year.

“Being recognized as the Teacher of the Year for the Laurel School District has been a humbling experience. As a second year teacher, this is a great accomplishment that I am honored to have bestowed upon me. When I attended the Mississippi Teacher of the Year Symposium in Jackson, I was surrounded by veteran teachers, some with as many as 42 years of teaching experience. Just listening to the changes and challenges that they had to endure and overcome sent my imagination into overdrive thinking about what is ahead for me; however, I am anxious to see what lies ahead,” McCullum said.

Though McCullum, who graduated salutatorian from Heidelberg High in 2002, only has two years of teaching experience, she has already participated in a variety of professional development opportunities. McCullum graduated Magna Cum Laude from Jackson State University with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, and in August of 2008 she graduated from William Carey University with a Masters of Education in elementary education. She is a member of Mississippi Professional Educators, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the National Council of Teachers of English. McCullum is also a certified Thinking Maps trainer, and is a mentor to alternate route teachers at JMS. She has also received training in Understanding by Design and Kagan Cooperative Learning.

“Every teacher that is passionate about what he or she does should strengthen and improve the teaching profession,” McCullum said. “I know that by growing through professional development, my students will ultimately benefit.”

McCullum is also active in extracurricular programs at JMS. She serves as co-sponsor for the cheerleading squad, advisor for the Student Council, Parent Teacher Organization liaison and was school coordinator for the Galveston Outreach, a fund-raising program developed by JMS to raise funds for Central Middle School, in Galveston, Texas, following Hurricane Ike.

“In Colossians 3:23, we are instructed, “Whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” I figure since God gave me the ability to perform a task, I might as well perform it to the best of my abilities. I will continue to do what I am able to do with faith and perseverance,” McCullum said.

McCullum’s willingness to persevere through the challenges that education may bring comes from a very influential figure in her life; her grandfather. The late Ira W. McCullum was an educator who impacted the lives of many including his very own granddaughter.

“In November of 2008, one of my grandfather’s former students, a man well above the age of 50, shared with my family the impact that my grandfather had on him,” McCullum recalled. “Not only was my grandfather a teacher and principal, he was a concerned human being who chose to believe in every student that entered the doors where he was the chosen leader. That conversation alone touched a special place in my heart.”

“At that very moment, I realized that simply teaching was not enough,” McCullum continued. “I was not called to merely produce students that were capable of reciting and completing every objective; however, my calling was to bring into being students who excelled beyond the school campus. I had to ask myself if I wanted to produce one-year wonders or life-long learners.”

“I am pleased to say that I chose the latter,” she added.

McCullum’s desire to fulfill the mission of the Laurel School District, which is “to build a community of life-long learners by providing diverse educational opportunities”, has caught the eye of administrators in the district, namely JMS Principal Carl Michael Day.

“I have worked with Marquita McCullum for the past two years,” Day said. “Marquita epitomizes the employee who volunteers and seeks to fill any need that arises in the school. Her dependability is impeccable.”

“She works with students beyond the classroom in order to push them to excel academically, as well as build essential social skills,” Day continued. “She represents the future of education.”

McCullum was recently recognized by the Laurel School District Board of Trustees as the Laurel School District Teacher of the Year. She was also recognized by the state of Mississippi along with other district teachers of the year from the state, and she was invited to attend a recognition ceremony held at William Carey University.