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COBB COUNTY - Kell High School teacher Scott Stephens heard something unexpected in yesterday's back-to-school faculty meeting.

The Latin teacher was chosen Cobb County's high school teacher of the year in a surprise announcement as teachers gathered in the Kell theater to prepare for the coming school year.

Along with Stephens, Varner Elementary teacher Karen Stargel and McClure Middle teacher Angela Fenton were honored as Cobb's elementary and middle school teachers of the year.

"I love this job, I love this school, I'm just trying to do the best job I can," Stephens said after Cobb Superintendent Fred Sanderson announced he was the winner.

Teachers leapt screaming to their feet as Stephens made his way to the front, where his family met him with a big hug.

"It means a lot. Thanks, you guys," Stephens said. "I love working here, I love working with you, I love working with kids. Thanks so much for setting a great example that makes me try to get my game up."

Kell teachers chose Stephens as teacher of the year in a faculty vote in the spring.

"Scott's just Scott. He loves kids. That's the way he feels about all of his students - they're his family," said Kell Principal Trudie Donovan. "He has a sense of pride in what he does."

As teachers filed out to enjoy cake in celebration of their colleague's accomplishment, Stephens, a 21-year veteran teacher and graduate of Sprayberry High School in east Cobb, said he tries to open students' eyes to the world.

"That's what I want to do - show (kids) that the world is bigger than their front door," Stephens said, tearing up. "That there's a world out there to be enjoying and a world out there to learn from. It doesn't ever have to stop."

Stephens said he loves Latin because it connects people in today's world to the greats of ages past.

"It's not just learning the language," he said. "There's this whole heritage. The reason we are who we are and the things that we do ... these people are all dead, but they have a gigantic impact."

Stephens' wife, Amber, a music therapist in Fulton County who was named Fulton's teacher of the year five years ago, said her husband loves to see lights click on in students' minds.

"He's always said, teaching is a calling. There's nothing he loves more than teaching Latin," Amber Stephens said.

Stargel, an orthopedic-impaired fifth grade teacher at Varner Elementary, wrote in her application for teacher of the year that she sees every child as "a success story waiting to be written."

"I know that all children can learn. This doesn't mean they learn at the same rate or even the same way," she wrote. "In order to learn, the students must be engaged, curious and feel comfortable taking risks. My job is to lead the students and help them discover their strengths as they help develop a learning community in which they can question, explore, experience, inquire, create and succeed."

Fenton, the McClure Middle teacher, said she transforms her classroom each year into "Planet Hollywood," a place where each of her students is the star.

"What do I want my students to know, understand and be able to do before they exit seventh grade social studies and prepare to make their debut on the world's stage?" she wrote in her application.

The three teachers will now vie to become the Cobb teacher of the year. The district will conduct interviews Wednesday. The final decision will be announced the third or fourth week of school, according to district officials.

Teachers around Cobb are busy preparing for school, which begins Monday, Aug. 11. The first week back, teachers have to take it "a step up," Kell social studies teacher Lizz Kramer said.

Kramer, going into her fourth year at Kell, said the first week back is a challenge as distracted students transition back into the school mode.

"You've really got to hook them in and get them excited about what they are going to learn," Kramer said.

Special education teacher Aaron Lawson, going into his second year at Kell and his ninth year in education, agreed with Kramer that enthusiasm is key as the new year begins.

"There's always the adjustment to the schedule and the curriculum. There's always this fine-tuning," Lawson said.

Donovan said, "One thing I always stress is relationships with the students. They've got to know that you care about them. And then they'll work as hard as you want."

But no matter how hard it is, there's one message Sanderson wants all teachers to hear loud and clear: "Thank you, thank you for what it is you do everyday as you face the future and educate the world."

efarnsworth@mdjonline.com

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