THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503240244
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 28 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALLISON WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
ONCE AGAIN, Tracey Wynn earned an A-plus in Celia Broady's kindergarten class.
It was like old times when Wynn, 24, sat at the desk in her former kindergarten teacher's classroom at Nansemond Parkway Elementary School. The Norfolk State University student spent two months student-teaching Broady's class.
``It gave me such joy and pride to see her come in and take over the class in such an exceptional manner,'' Broady said. ``I had to grade her student-teaching skills, and I told the children I gave her an A-plus!''
Wynn was a ``shy, ladylike 5-year-old'' in Broady's first kindergarten class at the now-closed East Suffolk Elementary School in 1975. Wynn graduated from John Yeates High School in 1989 and earned a degree in technology in 1993 from Norfolk State University.
Employed at a Norfolk architectural firm, Wynn's work with her young nephew on his math assignments left her longing for a career change.
So in late 1994, she quit her career, increased her part-time hours working at Sam's Wholesale Club in Chesapeake and hit the books at Norfolk State University again.
``There is so much creativity in this field, and I really like working with the little kids because they really appreciate what you do for them,'' she said.
She did a lot in the eight weeks they were together, Broady said. Wynn taught units including Eskimos, groundhogs, dental flossing, Martin Luther King Jr. and counting.
``I love her because she was so smart, and she let us play on the computer,'' said Ivy Williams, 6. ``And she always smiles a lot, and that made me feel good.''
Wynn is in the final stages of getting certified to teach elementary education. She will graduate in May, after completing two student-teaching stints - the latter in a fifth-grade class at Kilby Shores Elementary School.
She is hoping to go to work for Suffolk Public Schools. ``I was raised in Suffolk and would like to stay here,'' Wynn said.
It was fate that put Wynn and Broady together in the classroom again, the two said. Last December, Norfolk State - Broady's alma mater - asked her to serve as a mentor for a student-teacher candidate.
``We cannot specify what school or teacher we would like to have,'' Wynn said. ``I knew she was teaching but didn't expect to be put in her class.''
Although the two did not keep in touch during Wynn's student years, their lives have occasionally crossed paths. Broady taught Wynn's younger sister, and she and Wynn renewed their acquaintance last November, when Wynn was assigned to Nansemond Parkway for classroom observations as part of her degree requirements. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Tracey Wynn, right, does her student teaching in Celia Broady's
classroom at Nansemond Parkway Elementary School. Wynn, at age 5,
was a student in Broady's first class when she started teaching in
1975.
by CNB