Governor taps educator for committee to coach teachers
She was named Columbia County's Teacher of the Year. She was named a finalist for state Teacher of the Year. And this past week, Shaun Owen was named to a newly formed state committee to teach other teachers.
Shaun Owen, a past Columbia County teacher of the year, will join a state panel of 23 educators.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
On July 15, when Gov. Sonny Perdue announced the appointments to the Master Teacher and Academic Coach Implementation Committee, Owen, 35, was among 23 educators appointed to the 28-member committee.
"It's a big honor," Owen said. "It's really sounding like the governor and the state superintendent are working extremely well together. They have a sincere focus on improving education."
The committee will recognize outstanding teachers, induct new teachers, analyze student achievement data, make recommendations for school improvement and implement the new Georgia Performance Standards Curriculum.
"The whole idea is to raise the bar and give teachers the support to be able to do it," said Owen, a sixth-grade social studies teacher at Greenbrier Middle School. "You can't really say, 'We should all be excellent teachers,' and then not supply them with what they need to become excellent teachers."
Recommended for the committee spot by former Columbia County School Board member Lee Muns, Owen said she relishes the opportunity to help other teachers improve their methods. She has already presented her teaching methods at conferences and has other speaking engagements lined up in the near future.
"My main thing is to have a tremendous impact in education, just to leave my imprint," she said. "We really do have some outstanding teachers in Georgia, and it's nice to get their input."
Although her responsibilities to the implementation committee will take her away from her home school on occasion, Owen said she has no intention of permanently leaving the classroom.
"Teaching kids is a lot more fun," she said. "The impact is significantly larger that I can have with 200 other teachers, because they can go back and share with their kids what they learned, but it's a lot more enjoyable to teach kids than adults. I love teaching the kids."