Winners
TAG Teachers of the Year- Kelly Davis, Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences- Lauren Lindsey, itinerant gifted teacher at Lookout Valley Middle and HighTAG Students of the Year- Isaiah Brown Henry, Red Bank Middle- Salsabila Nurhidajat, Chattanooga School of the ArtsJo Patterson Distinguished Service Award- Lindsey Glass, itinerant gifted teacher at Battle Academy
Lookout Valley Middle and High School teacher Lauren Lindsey's emotions were on display as she accepted her Tennessee Association for the Gifted Teacher of the Year Award.
"I was not expecting this," she said through tears. "If I had known, I would not have worn so much eyeliner."
Lindsey, the itinerant gifted teacher at Lookout Valley and other Hamilton County schools, stood Thursday among several teachers and students honored at the TAG luncheon and awards ceremony at the Read House Hotel. More than 125 people were on hand to supply support and applause.
Even students got into the act, with Anna Chen, a fourth-grader at the Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts, providing the design for the TAG logo displayed at the luncheon.
The luncheon was a part of the TAG conference held annually in rotating locations in east, west, and central Tennessee.
The conference gives teachers suggestions on how to teach gifted students, who require a different approach compared to average students, organizers explained. Gifted students have intense curiosity and sometimes intense emotions. Many of them have discrepancies between their understanding of knowledge and their level of maturity. In having a conversation with one of these kids, for instance, one might think they are speaking with a 25-year-old, but in reality the student is a very bright 9-year-old who still reacts emotionally like all 9-year-olds when they are pushed on the playground. The conference helps teachers know how to assist students who deal with those challenges, organizers said.
Fourth- and fifth-graders from Orchard Knob Elementary School's gifted education program played "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on the violin, and the string quartet from Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts played Mozart as proud parents and teachers arrived at the luncheon.
The audience also included supportive athletic coaches and Hamilton County school administrators.
Lindsey was one of two teachers named teacher of the year. Kelly Davis, a teacher of the gifted program at Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences, also earned the distinction.
Both teachers said they loved their students.
Itinerant gifted teacher Lindsey Glass spent most of her time at the luncheon introducing teachers, documenting the event and taking pictures of award winners. Then her name was called for the Jo Patterson Distinguished Service Award.
Organizers also named two gifted students of the year - Salsabila Nurhidajat, a senior at Chattanooga School of the Arts and Sciences, and Isaiah Brown Henry, a Red Bank Middle School eighth-grader.
Nurhidajat wants to become a broadcast journalist. She said she specifically wants to be a voice for the Muslim and Asian community, because there's not a lot of representation of Muslims in the media, especially those from the Pacific Islands. Nurhidajat is Indonesian.
Meanwhile, Isaiah Brown Henry has overcome mountains, said his mother, Adriana Brown.
Just three years ago he was homeless. His mother said they stayed in a homeless shelter while she tried to find work. She had years of experience in customer service and as a staffing coordinator in Alabama but could only get cleaning jobs when she first moved to Chattanooga.
She eventually got a better job when she was hired at Erlanger hospital. She knew her son was gifted and kept trying to get him in a magnet school, but none would accept him. Yet he still excelled.
Henry's supporters filled his table. The group included his mother, brother, sister, aunt and swim coach.
Some family members and friends stood or leaned forward with phone cameras as Henry walked to accept his award.
"I can't express how honored I am to be known as one of the smartest students in Tennessee," he said.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.