Bateman named teacher of the year at Blackburn Elementary

Jennifer Bateman has been selected as the 2025 Teacher of the Year representing Blackburn Elementary school. This is the second Teacher of the Year honor Bateman has received during her time at Blackburn, where she has been teaching since 2006.
When choosing her for the annual award, Bateman’s peers at the school cited her thoroughness, wealth of knowledge and dedication to the job.
During recent remarks before the Board of Education, Principal Betsy Green also called special attention to Bateman’s exceptional attendance record.
“On top of all of those wonderful attributes, Jennifer hardly ever misses a day of work. In fact, last year she had perfect attendance. That speaks volumes about her dedication to her students, colleagues and the profession,” Green noted.

BLASTING OFF

Bateman got an explosive early start to her career, interning at the NASA Space Center right out of high school and working there all the way through college.
“I started out as an intern and then moved into the formal full-time position shortly after that and went to school while I was working full-time. And then I stayed.”
Bateman would continue working for a NASA subcontractor for about ten years, helping out with training and education, before completing her degree in teaching.
Bateman earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with Honors from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. After college, she went on to teach second through fifth grades in Brevard County for seven years.

BLACKBURN BOUND
 
Bateman said eventually the time came for her and her husband David, who also worked at the Space Center, to relocate.
“We came here because things were changing in Florida. The Space Center was closing,” Bateman recalled.
A teacher reciprocity agreement between the states of Georgia and Florida also helped to facilitate the move.
“So my first year here was provisional, until I completed two additional courses at RESA. And then they were able to give me a clear certificate after that,” Bateman explained.
Bateman has taught fourth grade for most of her career at Blackburn, and said she enjoys educating that age group.
“I love the fact that at fourth grade they’re somewhat independent, and you can do a lot of things with them in terms of building their knowledge. It also gives me a chance to see to those needs, where the gaps might be. I kind of thrive on filling in the gaps so to speak; I like seeing them grow,” she said.
Bateman said she helps tailor instruction to fourth graders with a variety of different knowledge levels, a process known as differentiation.
“It’s interesting because I have a wide assortment of children, and as such that gives me an opportunity to work on multiple skills.”
In addition to her regular class, Bateman participates in “co-taught classes” and “resources classes” as well.
“I have teachers who ‘push in’ to my classroom to provide extra support and I have students who leave my classroom to go to the resource center. It has to do with the inclusion model—trying to include students of various exceptionalities in everyday classrooms,” Bateman explained.
Fellow fourth grade teacher Jacque Bowden said she especially looks up to Bateman for “reaching the intellect of the high achievers while instilling confidence in the lower achievers.”

MEETING THE CHALLENGES

Bateman said one of the biggest challenges to teaching fourth grade is the amount of content educators are required to teach across the curriculum, which allows less class time for longer-term activities such as science fair projects.
“We used to do research projects that were over a few weeks. And we still try to do some of that, but the amount of standards and content that we have to cover kind of limits that,” she said.
Bateman said she has also witnessed an erosion of confidence among some students following the pandemic.
“We’ve seen in the last few years after COVID, whether it’s just because of the gaps or the difference in learning that they had to work through with the virtual setting, they’re not as confident in their ability to overcome something,” she said.

PLAY TIME

As far as extracurricular activities are concerned, Bateman said she and a fellow teacher are involved with a holiday service project right now.
“Mrs. Coker and I work to try to get some things each holiday to the nursing home, cards or things that the kids have done themselves, to kind of give them a warm fuzzy.”
When she’s not busy at school, Bateman said her main hobbies are reading and spending time with her family. Her son Ian is currently a junior at the University of North Georgia.
The Nugget’s School Spotlight is a reoccurring feature that puts the focus on a well-deserving Lumpkin County teacher. The next series of Spotlights will shine on the recently named Teachers of the Year.
We would like to thank Jennifer Bateman for everything she has done for Lumpkin County’s students.