Davis, Hines named MISD District Teachers of the Year

She began her career in MISD in 2007 as a paraprofessional in pre-kindergarten at WECC. In 2014-2015, she taught second grade at Carver Elementary before returning as a pre-kindergarten teacher at WECC this school year.

“I believe that teaching is one of the toughest jobs you’ll ever love,” Davis wrote in her application essay. “It is a great honor and a privilege to be an educator. Every day I enter my classroom is another opportunity to shape and mold young minds. Children watch what you do more than they hear what you say. Therefore, it is imperative that we are role models of the highest quality possible. It is my prayer that as teachers we will form schools that are learning communities in which we all work together to support and educate children.”

Mrs. Davis began her professional career as a hair stylist, and her family moved to Marshall in 1998. She found a position in a local beauty shop but began feeling a different calling.

“One day while we were at church, my pastor began talking to us about a vision he had of opening a daycare, to be of service to the children and families in the community,” she said. “I loved the idea of helping children. Two years later, his vision came to pass. The daycare and learning center opened and I was hired as one of the employees. I started working in the infant room but shortly thereafter I began working alongside another teacher in the Pre-K classroom. After my first experience of teaching, I was hooked. I loved it! I loved seeing the smiles on the children’s faces when they learned new tasks. I believe that I was more excited than they were.”

Shortly after this experience, Mrs. Davis felt led to pursue a career in teaching. She enrolled at Wiley College, earned her degree, and joined MISD as a paraprofessional in 2007.

“I have a love and a passion for children,” she wrote. “I want to nurture, inspire them and have a positive impact on their everyday lives and their self-worth. As a Pre-K teacher, I believe that I am making a difference in their daily lives by giving them a strong foundation in the basics, and helping them to believe in themselves and what they can accomplish.”

Mrs. Vicki Hines completed her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1985 from Wiley College, with a minor in English. She has served as a teacher in Waskom ISD, Longview ISD and in Marshall ISD, where she taught at Carver Elementary from 1996-2006. She has taught sixth grade Cultural Studies and fifth grade English/Language Arts at Price T. Young Middle School since 2013. She currently serves as PTY’s ELA Team Leader.

“As my time in the teaching profession has evolved, I have acquired a passing for teaching,” she wrote in her application essay. “This is a passion for making a difference in lives, for building relationships that matter and for opening doors of success, whether social, academic or otherwise, to those who can achieve with proper guidance, instruction and leadership.I feel that teaching is perhaps one of the most fulfilling roles in life. Being a teacher means helping to shape another person by teaching and instructing them.”

Building relationships with a student for the daily grind of school and teaching is an important part of education, Mrs. Hines believes.
“I find daily rewards in teaching,” she wrote. “Students give me notes and drawings expressing how much they like me or how much fun they had in class. I have received gifts for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine’s Day, and I treasure them all. But, my greatest reward is seeing a child who has struggled with a concept and suddenly gets this light behind their eyes as whatever was hindering them disappears and they suddenly understand a concept and how to apply it.”

“I do not consider myself as an ‘outstanding teacher,’” she wrote. “I am a compassionate, strong and dedicated person who is excited about working with children and preparing and inspiring them to become caring and productive members of society. In our competitive society it is important for students to not only receive a solid education, but to have a teacher who is aware of and sensitive to their individual needs.”

Both Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Hines will be presented to the Marshall ISD Board of Trustees as District Teachers of the Year at the regular May meeting on May 16.