Johnson High Teacher Takes SCCPSS Top Teacher Honors

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- There are a lot of great teachers in Savannah Chatham County Public Schools, but only one can claim the title as the district's teacher of the year. Friday Night at the Westin Savannah Harbor, Bettina Polite Tate of Johnson High School picked up the honor to represent SCCPSS as the 2011 Teacher of the year. See the news release below on Tate, and make sure and check out the special Teacher of the Year Section in the Savannah Morning News this Sunday Februrary 7th featuring each school's teacher of the year.

From SCCPSS Schools:

Bettina Polite Tate, a marketing and IB business and management instructor, was named Savannah-Chatham County Public School System’s 2011 Teacher of the Year at the annual Teacher of the Year Gala held at the Westin Savannah Harbor Hotel.

Tate has been a teacher at Sol C. Johnson High School since August 2005. Johnson High School is also Tate’s alma mater. Before beginning her teaching career at Johnson High, she worked for six years as a successful businesswoman in a reputable Fortune 500 company. Having graduated from Savannah State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in public administration, Tate says a career in education was not on her “to do” list, even though she enjoyed substitute teaching when her schedule allowed her the opportunity to do so. However, she began to feel professionally unfulfilled, and after reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, in addition to numerous conversations with family members, Tate realized her calling: to work in the most important business of the world-the business of education. In her Georgia Teacher of the Year application, Tate states “I help people obtain what they need, I negotiate for successful futures, and I am wealthy with respect, love, and knowledge.”

She believes an “outstanding teacher” is one that “identifies students’ strengths, talents, and abilities and provides them with real-world opportunities to enhance and perfect their natural attributes.” Tate shows her commitment to being an exemplary educator by working with students inside and outside the classroom. She developed and oversees the student-run Smasher Marketing Firm which provides all aspects of marketing assistance to local small businesses in Savannah. She spearheads school-wide initiatives such as recycling, teachers as advisors and school store operations. She also serves as a teacher advisor for student organizations such as DECA and the Gulfstream Student Leadership Program.

Tate also volunteers within the community through such organizations as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Iota Phi Lambda Sorority. She is also the founder of two service organizations- Youth of Elite Community Organizations and Fully Armored Teen Camp. She believes her “commitment to the community shows youth and fellow educators that we all have a far-reaching responsibility and can make our community better by being intimately involved in it.”

Tate says her beliefs about teaching are demonstrated in my personal teaching style. “I model what I expect. I discuss my interest, career, and academic goals with students and I share the behaviors that I enact to accomplish them. In turn, I encourage students to discuss their goals with me. Then, I work as a facilitator to help them take actions to be successful.”