This year, Woodford County High School (WCHS) hired thirteen new teachers and staff members. These new teachers, along with a brand new high school, has been quite the adjustment for many. Among this large group of newly hired teachers is Ms. Emma Massey, an English 3 and Science-Fiction Fantasy teacher. Originally from Franklin, Tennessee, Ms. Massey is excited to have now joined the WCHS family.
This will be her seventh year teaching, but her first time truly teaching high school students. She attended college at the University of Tennessee at Martin and student taught with Juniors and Seniors. Then, straight out of college, she started her teaching career in Paris, Tennessee and for the past 6 years has taught English in sixth and eighth grades. Ms. Massey moved around Tennessee but made her way to Woodford County through her fiancé, Jacob, who was a Woodford County High School graduate and who always told Ms. Massey how amazing Woodford County Schools were. So, whenever she saw the job opening, she knew she had to take her chance and was excited to get an interview and be hired at WCHS.
Coming into the school year, Ms. Massey had a positive attitude and was excited to be a part of the school system she had heard so many great things about. When asked about how her adjustment to WCHS had been, Mrs. Massey said, ““Honestly, some things are hard because it’s a new school, its a new system, its new expectations and things like that, but everybody here has been so helpful with answering questions, showing me how to do things, checking in on me, seeing if I’m doing okay. From the very beginning, it’s just been very very welcoming. So I feel like the transition has been easy because of that.”
Ms. Massey seemed to enjoy the people of WCHS and felt like she had joined an extremely supportive environment. So when asked, “How do you feel about the community at WCHS, is there anyone who has stood out to you?” she said, “My English department in general has been amazing.” She went on to explain that her fellow English teachers, Mrs. Boss and Ms. Kamer, have been very supportive, checked in on her, and given her tons of resources to help her through the year. She also explained that she even had teachers in other departments, like Ms. Denny and Ms. Duncan from the math department, who had made her feel right at home from the beginning because they knew her fiancé and that they “…took her under their wing…” as she put it. Massey went on to say, “So it’s been really nice to just kind of already have a family in a way of people that are looking out for me and want to help and it’s been really really great.” Ms. Massey seemed to feel at peace and very happy with the environment she had joined into.
When asked what her favorite part of WCHS was, Ms. Massey said, “Probably the commitment to excellence. I feel like you guys as students really understand what it takes to be successful, and you’re willing to work for that and not everybody has that. Not every school has that. And you guys kind of have a culture of ‘we’re going to be successful’, ‘we’re going to work for it’, ‘we’re going to achieve things out in the real world’, and there just seems to be a value behind education here that I really really appreciate.” Her tone was inspiring and almost in awe of her new students and her new school. She seemed to not only be adjusting well, but to be enjoying her adjustment and confident in her career decision. When asked what her least favorite part of WCHS was, she was truly speechless. There was a long pause, and finally she decided that she didn’t like doing discipline referrals. In fact, she hated them. She even said, “ It eats me up. I just don’t want to do them, or have to do them.” But overall, she didn’t have any complaints, as of right now anyway.
Ms. Massey also seems to have assimilated well into the WCHS environment and to be loved by her students. Many students have expressed that they appreciate her and the personal feel that she brings to her classroom. Some say that she’s strict, but even then, they thoroughly enjoy her environment and the style in which she teaches. Sci-Fi Fantasy student Jenna Lowe (12) says, “Ms. Massey is a great teacher who’s adapted super quickly to life at Woodford. She always makes class fun, and it’s easy to talk to her about anything.”
Ms. Massey enjoys WCHS itself, her coworkers, as well as her students, and has adjusted well to Woodford County Public Schools as a whole. She seems inspired by the school system, its students, and its overall community. Leaving Tennessee may have been the right move after all. Ms. Massey seems to be adjusting to and relishing WCHS pretty well and it is believed that WCHS may just seem to love her too.
