After being named the Gwinnett County Public Schools teacher of the year this week, Lee Allen asked the community to come together to support public education.
“The sooner we put aside partisan bickering and realize we all have the same goal, working toward the best possible education for your children, the better off we’ll be at the school level, as a community and as a district,” Allen said.
Allen, an algebra teacher and assistant wrestling coach at Archer High School in Lawrenceville, asked parents to get involved, observe a class and maintain communication with their children and their teachers.
Allen was announced as the district-wide teacher of the year at a ceremony Tuesday night. He has been a teacher for eight years, the last three in Gwinnett County. He said he was drawn to teaching for the opportunity to make an impact in young people’s lives.
In a video shown at the ceremony, Allen said he incorporates real-world concepts into his math lessons and strives to keep classes fun and conversational. The video highlighted several algebra-themed TikToks Allen and his students made.
Credit: Josh Reyes/AJC
Credit: Josh Reyes/AJC
Allen also acknowledged the challenges educators face, relaying statistics about teachers leaving the field and fewer college students pursuing teaching careers. He admitted that the stress of the job made him consider a career change this year. He advised other teachers struggling to remind themselves of the reason they chose to work in education and let that motivate them.
Gwinnett County Public Schools is the largest district in the state and employs about 12,500 teachers. Teachers of the year at 139 schools were honored Tuesday.
Jamie Garcia Caycho, a first grade teacher at Arcado Elementary, and Taniesha Pooser, an orchestra teacher at Berkmar Middle School, were named the district-wide teachers of the year for their respective school levels. Allen was also named the high school teacher of the year.
