BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (WJTV) – An email from a viewer prompted me to travel to Brookhaven for this week’s #CoolSchools segment. It read “She teaches at Lipsey Middle School…She is a Sunday school teacher and a youth leader…She is outstanding when it comes to learning, excelling, and teaching our students.”
That “she” in the email is Shunta Davis, a 6th-grade math teacher who is everything you would want in a teacher. “If there was a poster child for teachers. She would be one of the ones,” said Lipsey Principal Rita Robinson.
Based on the stories I heard while visiting the school, that hearty compliment is well deserved. I’m told Shunta Davis’ math class is one that every student and every parent wants their student to be in. Somehow, the mother of 4 gives Lipsey Middle her best every day. “If they want extra help in math, she stays after school and she works with them,” Robinson said.
“Once I get to know them, I can get down to their level and continue to grow from there. Whether it’s a song or a beat, or it’s paper pencil,” Davis said. And when that light bulb goes off in her students’ brains, she hears all about it. That’s every teacher’s favorite part of the job.
The stories couldn’t have happened if Davis had stuck with her plan A, which was accounting. The Jackson State University graduate had a change of heart, which luckily landed her at Lipsey 7 years ago. “To know that you made a difference in the life of a child is rewarding. I love what I do,” Davis said with a huge smile on her face.
If you know of a student, teacher, parent or school doing something cool, nominate them for our #CoolSchools segment. Tell us what makes them cool by sending an email to coolschools@wjtv.com.