Ms. Forrester is most deserving of this award based on her uncanny ability to connect with students from all walks of life, her vast content knowledge and her talent for imparting that knowledge on to her students, and her selfless, team player attitude when working with her Adult Education colleagues.
Ms. Forrester truly has an amazing ability to connect with students from all walks of life. Ms. Forrester began working for Spartanburg County Adult Education during the 2015-2016 school year as the coordinator and teacher for SCAE’s Corrections Education program. At the time, the program was just getting off of the ground. The partnership was new, and all new processes and procedures needed to be built and put into place. Ms. Forrester spearheaded those efforts with great success. Ms. Forrester quickly became a beloved mentor to the men and women that she worked with within the confines of the jail. These individuals entered her classroom angry, embarrassed, and ashamed of the position that they had put them themselves in, but they left her classroom hopeful and encouraged about what they could accomplish. In October of 2019, Ms. Forrester celebrated alongside her 100th GED graduate from the program. Our local newspaper did a story about the program, the graduate, Christian, and Ms. Forrester. Christian credited Ms. Forrester’s constant encouragement as her reason for not giving up even when she was struggling the most. She told the reporter that the lessons she learned from Ms. Forrester not only helped her to earn her GED, but also helped make her a stronger and more confident person.
In addition to her encouraging spirit and nature, Ms. Forrester is also an extremely gifted teacher. Her content knowledge is superb and her understanding of the Adult Education curriculum and resource catalogue ensures that her students are receiving quality instruction on the way to obtaining their GED. Ms. Forrester also serves as the unofficial “curriculum advisor” to SCAE teachers who aren’t sure where to turn next when their students are struggling to understand content because they are aware of just how deep her knowledge and expertise run.
We are so thankful to have Ms. Forrester as a part of our team !