What’s it like to learn from a Teacher of the Year? See inside Columbus winner’s classroom

Loveys.

That’s what English teacher Christie Akers calls her students at Northside High School.

Her students and principal will tell you this term of endearment from the Muscogee County School District 2024 Teacher of the Year isn’t a gimmick. It’s the sincere expression of someone who loves to teach and loves her students — and she shows them as well as tells them.

Northside principal Marty Richburg sees the impact when Akers calls her students Loveys.

“It makes them feel known and valued, which is part of our district mission, vision,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer. “They understand what they mean to her, and they really get it. It’s not fake..”

Just ask Northside sophomores Austin Mobley and Sneha Thakur. Akers teaches them in AP Seminar, an interdisciplinary course that requires students to make presentations that demonstrate skills in critical thinking, collaboration and research.

Sneha was nervous speaking in front of the class, so she asked Akers for advice. Akers met with her before and after school to practice.

“When I’m presenting, I would see her nod her head and smile,” Sneha said. “That makes me more confident, and then I don’t stutter, or I don’t kind of shy away. … She is the best teacher I’ve ever had. I feel so comfortable around her. I don’t feel pressured or anything.”

Austin agrees.

“I never feel stressed out in this class doing this stuff when I would be stressed out somewhere else,” he said. “The whole classroom . . . kind of feels like a home away from home because of how nourishing and comforting and happy she can be.”

For example, during the L-E’s visit to her classroom, Akers guided the students through a game to teach how to use transition words in their writing. Akers gave each student a card with a transition word or phrase, such as “however” or “in fact,” and they had to use that word or phrase to continue a story they ad-libbed together.

The rapport the students have with Akers was clear: They laughed with each other instead of at each other in this safe space as they took turns stretching the story with funny yet appropriate lines.

“She has a very bubbly personality, which makes the whole classroom very comfortable,” Austin said. “. . . She also feels like a friend, . . . not just like some overbearing authority figure.”

Sneha appreciates that Akers willingly listens to students discuss issues beyond their schoolwork.

“If you go up to her and you tell her you’re having problems, she would take so much time out of her life and create something for you so that you’re comfortable and you know what you’re doing,” Sneha said.

Austin often hangs out in Akers’ classroom after school.

“It doesn’t feel like a long time, but then it’ll end up being for like an hour,” he said. “I’ll just sit and talk to her. … The environment is just so welcoming.”

Richburg asks himself this question when assessing a teacher: Would I want this teacher to teach my child? And when it comes to evaluating Akers, there’s no doubt.

“She’s everything, everything you want,” he said. “… She’s going to take care of the kids. She’s going to challenge them. She’s going to give them the love that they need. She’s just the complete package for a teacher.”

No wonder the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation selected her among 55 nominees as the MCSD Teacher of the Year.

The following are excerpts from the L-E’s interview with Akers, edited for brevity and clarity:

As MCSD’s Teacher of the Year, you are a spokesperson for the profession. What concern or change do you want to be an advocate for during the next year?

“I think the priority for me is to build back trust and appreciation of teachers. We are truly public servants. In the last few years, with the political climate and things happening in our nation, sometimes teachers are seen as an adversary rather than an advocate. … I am an advocate for every single one of my students. I want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable. No matter who they are — no matter their beliefs, politically, religiously — everybody is welcomed and valued in my classroom. I want to promote that. I think every teacher believes that. . . . We want to partner with the parents. We want the parents of our students to know we’re on the same team, that we want what you want. We want your children to be valued, loved, successful, no matter what that looks like for them.”

You were educated in MCSD (Double Churches Elementary School, Richards Middle School and Columbus High School) and at Columbus State University, so you know the families of many of your students even before they enter your classroom. How is that a factor in your effectiveness as a teacher?

“These kids are going to run for public office in my town. I truly believe that this generation, they’re going to change the world. They have the power and the intelligence and the access to information. I’m invested in their success, somewhat selfishly because I’m going to live in the town where they’re going to make the changes.”

You didn’t go into teaching immediately after college. How and why did you become a teacher.

“I have a bachelor’s degree in English literature because I like to read, but I don’t like math — which is terrible but true. Then, when I graduated, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I got a job at Total System (TSYS) as a corporate trainer. It was a really fun job, and I worked for really great people — and the travel was amazing — but I presented the same course, the same information every week. I started to question my purpose, that if this is just something that I just repeat, repeat, repeat, is that the best use of my skills. Honestly, I just wanted to make a difference in a different way. So, while working at Total System, I went back to school and got my master’s degree in education and started teaching at Shaw High School.… I realized that I really liked it. At first, I wasn’t terrible at it, and then I just grew my skills by watching other teachers.”

Why do you love teaching?

“I wanted to do something that had lasting impact. Maybe I’m a dreamer, but I really do believe in the power of public education. I really do believe that it’s an equalizer. And so I wanted to make a difference in that way. … It’s why I’m still teaching. I still really believe in that. … It’s really fun.”

So how could school districts recruit and retain more teachers?

“Ultimately, teaching is like any other job, in that you have to make it lucrative, you have to make it attractive to people that are in college. Yes, making a difference is attractive, but we shouldn’t rely on teachers’ big hearts to justify underpayment or salaries that are not competitive with other industries. . . . I will say the state of Georgia has made great strides in that, especially recently. I do think they have been investing in public education, and it shows. I think Muscogee County has been investing in public education, and we are some of the better-compensated teachers in the state. But as a nationwide issue, that’s one of the major ones.”

What would be your ideal accountability system to effectively and fairly assess students, teachers, schools and districts?

“I do understand the desire for quantitative data, for numbers, for test scores, but I also understand as a teacher that children are not test scores and that children learn on a different timeline, some faster than others, some slower than others, but it’s all growth, and it’s all learning, and it’s all valid. So, to me, it would be more of a hybrid system. It would be test scores focused on growth and not necessarily a specific number. It would also be your administrators, but also I would welcome student feedback as part of my evaluation. . . . Courses like mine are harder to benchmark because it’s presentation-based and portfolio-based. But I need to be accountable for the growth of my students from where I got them to where they ended with me — and not some predetermined age-based growth score.”

Why do you call your students “Loveys,” and what’s the impact?

“I was out of the classroom for like six years (as an academic coach and dean in her 18-year educator career), and I came back in during the pandemic, the year when we were virtual and in person. I’ve always had a soft spot for my kids, but I was like, ‘I’ve got to have something to make us a group, make us feel like a family, even though half of these kids I will never meet in person.’ … I wanted my students to feel included, and I wanted to be inclusive. No matter your background, no matter your preferences, I wanted you to feel welcomed. Ultimately, I love every one of my kids. So the Lovey thing just came from that. … I do get eye rolls, like, ‘What is this lady saying?’ But, eventually, they know I mean it. I do mean it, and it becomes a term of endearment and a term of our little classroom family. My AP Seminar kids in particular now call me Lovey too. That’s the first time that’s ever happened, and it’s really cute. It just helps us build a group. It helps us all be on the same team. And if nobody else tells them in a day that they love them, then I do because they’re my Loveys.”