Amanda Glasscock has been a part of Tallassee City Schools for her entire life.
As a student, Glasscock was at the old Tallassee Elementary School that is now city hall. As an educator though, she is at the new Tallassee Elementary School in the computer lab impacting the lives of students: kindergarten through fourth grade.
“I enjoy the job because I get to interact with all the students of the school,” Glasscock said. “I feel like that is something that makes my role unique in the school system, because not every teacher gets to interact with every kid every year.”
It’s a position she uses to be a positive influence on students.
“It's a gift that God's blessed me with,” Glasscock said. “I feel I need to share with all children.”
Recently Glasscock was chosen by her co-workers as TES Support Staff of the Year. It was a recognition she feels many deserve.
“It's humbling and it's an honor because I feel like I just do my job,” Glasscock said. “I try to be friendly. I mean, it's nice to be recognized, don't get me wrong, but it's very like, ‘Oh, wait there are others too.’”
Students rotate through Glasscock’s computer lab on 35-minute intervals through an activity class rotation. It’s a rotation that also exposes students to things such as art, music and STEM during the school year. In Glasscock’s class students learn basic computer skills.
Glasscock said some students haven’t been exposed to screens or the full use of computers before they enter her lab.
“It’s a learning process, especially with the kindergarteners, to show them how to use the mouse,” Glasscock said. “Most have never used a mouse before. It’s a motor skill they have to learn. It’s always a fun time and things can happen really fast. You got to be up on your feet the whole time walking around and checking on the students.”
Glasscock also gets to teach the students other skills.
“We teach some coding,” Glasscock said. “It is computational thinking. It is basically how to solve a problem. It opens the door to logic.”
This is Glasscock’s fourth year at TES in the computer lab. She was at Huntingdon College for about 10 years working the band as a recruiter, auxiliary coordinator and dance instructor. It has been a similar role for her with the Tallassee High School Band.
Glasscock left Montgomery to be closer to home.
“I loved my job at Huntington, but I wanted to be back in the community where I live and go to church and where my kids are,” Glasscock said. “I wanted to be able to give back to my community.”
