Clinton Public School District’s 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year is Nancy Dent
Clinton Public School District’s Teacher of the Year, Clinton High School English teacher Nancy Dent, is no stranger to going above and beyond the traditional call of duty.
In her 38 years of teaching—the last 16 of those serving at Clinton High School—she’s traveled the breadth of the English curriculum, covering everything from Advanced Placement classes to speech and debate, essentials of college literacy, world literature and mythology.
She’s proudly been the sponsor of Clinton High School’s Academic Team for a decade, even seeing her students finish second in the nation at the National Academic Challenge.
She’s given of her time to Model U.N. and facilitated CHS’s First Priority Club all in the name of encouraging students at Clinton High School to achieve their greatest potential.
“I try to start the students’ day off by letting them know how happy I am to see them,” Dent said. “I love seeing their faces light up when I get to tell them good morning, by name, and give them the ‘elbow of love’ at the end of the teaching period.”
Referencing the changes put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dent said this is just another chapter in the ever-changing world of secondary education.
“Teaching virtually seemed a daunting task back in March 2020,” she said, “but today it doesn’t feel that way. I miss not being able to see the faces of my kids on Zoom, or as I call them, my Zoomies. I would much rather be able to see their faces and know if they are ‘with me’ during class discussions, but we’re doing the best we can do.”
She said the world certainly has changed from her first days in the classroom back in 1982, but students over the past four decades have always had the need to be loved.
“Sometimes I think I may be the only one who tells a child that he or she is loved and that I love them all regardless of the circumstances,” she said. “Students need hope for a better tomorrow, and that’s been at the heart of my calling.”
Dent, who started out as a band instructor, said she has a true love for music but realized her passion for English and literature would allow her to educate students while creating lasting bonds.
“When I see that light go off in a student’s eyes when they make a connection in class, it makes me truly excited,” she said. “And of course, since I teach seniors, every graduation ceremony is special. It allows me to beam with pride as my seniors cross that stage.”
Dent says she’s determined to reach as many students as she can and has no intention of retiring any time soon. “I love teaching and, specifically, teaching in the community where I live,” she said. “It brings me great joy to see my former students around town and find out what is happening in their lives.”
Her husband, Terry Dent, teaches science at Clinton Junior High School, and her son Sam, who graduated as Valedictorian from Clinton High School in 2012, is a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics at Florida State University.
As CPSD’s Teacher of the Year, Dent will represent the Clinton Public School District in the Mississippi Teacher of the Year program this spring hosted by the Mississippi Department of Education.