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"It wasn’t until I walked over the threshold of Mrs. Rawl’s fourth-grade classroom that I came face to face with an excited teacher," remembers Dana Ballard, Teacher of the Year for Kennedy Elementary.
"When I entered her classroom it was as if I entered another world; at least as far as school was concerned. Art, music and cooperative learning were things she incorporated into all areas of the curriculum," said Ballard. "I had an epiphany at the close of that school year leaving me with the notion that I too could become an educator much like Mrs. Rawl."
Since moving on from her fourth-grade class, Ballard’s life has been marked by a love for teaching. She began her practice by teaching her younger brother, who Ballard called an "unwilling participant." As a high school senior, Ballard and a few classmates began the first Future Educators Club of Barrow County. As a young adult, she traveled on educational missions trips to Mexico and the Philippines.
"I was able to view firsthand the diversity within our world and learn the importance of treating everyone with equality," she said, recalling how those trips influenced her. "I believe we as educators are not too different from the missionaries that found refuge in our home as we too seek to tell others about life, the world around us, and challenge them to do their part to make it better. It is essential for me as an educator to look at the diversity within my classroom as an opportunity to learn from another’s differences and to celebrate our unique qualities."
Dana Ballard received her bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from Brenau University in 2000, allowing her to follow her love of teaching in earnest. She spent six years teaching fourth and fifth grades at Auburn Elementary, where she was honored as the 2004-05 TOTY, before becoming a fourth-grade teacher at Kennedy.
Ballard said her passion for education was influenced not only by an excited elementary teacher, but also by her parents. Her father has numerous degrees, including an honorary doctorate. Though her mother never graduated college, she did instill in Ballard a love of reading.
"I strive to pass this legacy of literacy on to my students as we read and write in an assortment of subjects," Ballard said.
In addition to literacy, Ballard tries to root a well-rounded education in all of her students. She incorporates different teaching styles, such as music, drama and visual aids, into her lessons to appeal to all types of learners.
"Public school students come to us not as numbers or manufactured products, but as individuals with a host of different educational experiences and learning styles," Ballard explained. "I am thankful I do not have a roomful of carbon copied children, but with this individuality comes the responsibility of meeting particular needs."
Her work doesn’t go unnoticed.
"Dana’s soft-spoken appearance disappears when you walk into her room and see her interaction with her children. She has an energy and a passion for students and the subjects she teaches," said Kennedy Principal Ryan Butcher. "She is one of those people that others gravitate towards for guidance, wisdom and leadership."
To Ballard, however, there in only one real indication of her success.
"When I think of what my greatest accomplishments are, I look at the successes of my students," she said. "As I open the local paper I am able to reminisce about former students and celebrate their accomplishments. My first fourth-grade class, now high school seniors, fill the pages and my heart with pride....[The students] are a product of what I work so hard to do each day; they are my trophies, our hope, and our future. When I look at them they encourage me to see myself as more than a professional educator; for I am a teacher, a friend, a role model, and a learner."Her former students share the same regard for Ballard.
"My class was the first class she taught in her career as a teacher, and she did a wonderful job then and does amazing now," said Alison Walters, now a high school graduate. "She has been my role model for almost eight years. If anyone, she would be the one that would inspire me to be a teacher."
While Ballard loves inspiring her students to learn, she does have another passion – serving her community and church. Ballard uses her teaching expertise while working as the director of the elementary ministry of Grace Baptist Church in Auburn. During the summer she works with Landmark Baptist Kids Camp in Dry Branch, serving as the Education Director, assigning teachers and establishing curriculum for more than 130 campers.
Ballard also looks for opportunities in the community to teach. Recently, she began tutoring a grown man to read again after he suffered severe head trauma.
Ballard is currently a member of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) and a former member of Alpha Delta Kappa.
She is also continuing her own education by seeking her master’s in Post Secondary Education from Troy University.
Ongoing education and qualified educators are both important to Ballard.
"I like the saying, ‘A good teacher is like a candle, it consumes itself to light the way for others,’" she said. "The fact that we as educators are working tirelessly to help others see things more clearly in their life makes this statement true. Teaching is vital to the success of all careers in a thriving society. It is for this reason we must foster a desire to see high quality educators come into the classroom in a pursuit to consume themselves for their students."
