FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. — Kay McDowell says she gets up every day bursting with love for her job and her students at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School.
Mrs. McDowell, who lives in Cleveland, Tenn., was awarded the VFW’s National Citizenship Education Teacher Award after being nominated by parent Rhonda Rodgers through VFW Post 1289 in Chattanooga.
Mrs. McDowell said her efforts to build relationships with her high school’s nine special education students, their parents and her two hardworking assistants helped lead to the recognition.
PERSONAL GLANCE* Name: Kay McDowell* Occupation: Autism teacher* Personal/family: Husband, Dewayne, son, Kyle, and his wife, Amanda, and daughter, Kendyll.* Something people don’t know about me: “I’ve always wanted to parachute out of a plane.”
“People say it’s hard work, and I’ve never thought of it as hard work,” she said. “It’s something I enjoy doing. It’s a job I love to come to in the mornings. I’ve got to give them life skills that they can use to be able to take care of themselves.”