Gina Smith leaves auto industry career behind to become a Savannah teacher

This is one of a series of articles on each of the five finalists for Savannah-Chatham County Public School System 2022-23 school year Teacher of the Year.

After working 25 years in the auto industry, Groves High School teacher Gina Smith made the move to the classroom.

"I decided, from sitting in the finance chair, looking at credit and talking to a lot of 18-year-olds, I decided, maybe I need to go into the teacher world,” she said. "Spectators can complain, but instead of complaining, become a participator and help with educating these students.”

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Smith, who teaches maritime logistics, is one of five finalists competing for the title of the 2022-23 teacher of the year for the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS). She will compete in a process that will involve classroom observations and panel interviews over the past couple of months. A winner will be announced at the annual gala Feb. 11 at the Marriott Savannah Riverfront.

Cherie Dennis, a teacher of English speakers of other languages (ESOL) at Hesse K-8 School, was named as Teacher of the Year for 2020-21. Dennis held on to her title for 2021-22 because of the pandemic. She is also the Georgia State Teacher of the Year.

Home-grown educator

Smith a Savannah native, is a graduate of Beach High School and Savannah State University. She has been teaching for the past five years and was hired as a business teacher, but mostly focused on computer coding.

“I was asked to take over this pathway, and I love it; it has changed my life," she said. "If it could change my life, I know it could change, you know, a child's life."

Smith said her class involves a lot of hands-on work, which includes using a forklift to move materials. She said her class helps to prepare students to work at warehouses and at local ports like the Georgia Port Authority.

Smith said she makes her classes personable by sharing her story of being raised by a single parent and how she was told that she couldn't do anything in her life. She lets her students know that anything is possible.

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"When I was growing up, I actually had a teacher telling me I wasn't college material and believed that until I met somebody who told me that's not true," she said. "So it means a lot to me to be here."

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Smith said the only difference between working in the auto industry and a school is that she is working with children. She likes how she can teach them about establishing credit at a young age and encouraging them to take jobs that make lot of money.

“I wanted to come into the education field and catch them early,” she said.

Smith said she provides incentives to her students who do well in their main classes. She said if a student isn’t doing well, like in a math class, then the student will not be able to go experience hands-on training at IKEA.

Seeing her students succeed is one thing she gets out of teaching.

“I get to see my students' faces and I get to see the changes in them," she said.

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Smith said since teaching in the Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) pathway, she has seen a lot of students excel when they otherwise would be considered problematic in school. Smith recalls a student in her class a few year ago who didn't do well academically, but after taking her class, his grades began to improve.

She said the program allowed him to work with his hands and was able to get good paying job at The Georgia Port Authority.

"If you have that positive light in your life that is telling you that you can be anything you want to be, they strive," she said. "I have seen it happen."

Smith said she is humbled by being named as a finalist for teacher of the year.

“It made me feel good,” she said. "Sometimes when you are teaching and you feel like teaching is vain sometimes, but you know that [teaching] is all about the children.”

Smith said she will continue to teach for as long she can.

"I believe I found my purpose," she said.

Bianca Moorman is the education reporter. Reach her at BMoorman@gannett.com or 912-239-7706. Find her on Twitter @biancarmoorman

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah-Chatham Teacher of Year finalist: Gina Smith, Groves High