Teacher Earns Hootworthy Honor

We know that Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA) has some of the best teachers in the state of Georgia and we recently found out that it isn’t just the state of Georgia, but also the whole United States!  Ms. Lisa Clark has been teaching math for 8 years, and, surprisingly enough, always 9th grade. She has taught at GCA for only one semester so far, but has already helped show that GCA has some of the best teachers by receiving an incredible honor from one of her former students. 

Ms. Clark formed a bond with one of her previous students, Aaron, from her former school, through the years of teaching and supporting him. She noted that Aaron was a student who had a passion to learn; he pushed her to teach and challenge him throughout the class. She encouraged and assisted Aaron during the Governor’s Honors program process. As he continued his high school career, Aaron earned the STAR student award, while choosing her as STAR teacher. 

Then, Aaron notified Ms. Clark of an invitation only award he received based on high SAT and ACT scores, the US Presidential Scholars Program. She shared that the application process was incredibly detailed, but she was happy to support him once again! After the 6000-candidate pool, he then made it as one of the 600 semifinalists. From the 600 semifinalists, he was selected as one of the 161 finalists, representing one of two slots from Georgia. Aaron earned the title of a 2021 US Presidential Scholar.

Aaron nominated Ms. Clark for the prestigious honor of a 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program’s Distinguished Teacher. Ms. Clark’s recognition also brought Georgia Cyber Academy some attention because her honored title is associated with her current school. She mentioned she was happy to earn the title with GCA next to her name because it is a testament to the caliber of teachers she has witnessed working here and the support she has received from training, colleagues, leadership, and more.  

A favorite memory at GCA so far has been, ironically enough, a student of hers also named Aaron! He reminded her so much of her other Aaron in the way he asked great questions, stayed engaged, and pushed her beyond what she was teaching. He went from not passing the previous semester to earning an A the next. He even accepted her recommendation to try honors math! When asked why the dramatic change, Aaron mentioned that he realized he still needs to do things that he is not interested in, to get to the things he does want to do—what an insight at such a young age! 

She could not praise the support she has had enough during her GCA journey thus far, showering her team, lead, and mentor with appreciation throughout the interview. She has felt so validated by her leadership and coworkers and strives to validate her students. You can find her teaching Honors/Gifted Algebra 1 as a US Presidential Scholars Program’s Distinguished Teacher. 

Please find the entire list of US Presidential Scholars Program’s Distinguished Teachers here.

You can also find more information regarding the US Presidential Scholars Program here. 

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Do you have a GCA Hootworthy story? We would love to hear about it! Reach out to us here: https://www.georgiacyber.org/hootworthy

Check out the full interview on our Youtube: https://youtu.be/LbV9P526kCI

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