THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609130270
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 118 lines
FOR FIVE OF Suffolk's rookie teachers, the first week of school was as much a homecoming as a career debut.
Although the Suffolk public schools often hire new teachers who are alumni, it is exceptional for five close friends who grew up together in the Suffolk schools to come back home to launch their teaching careers at the same time.
Identical twins La-Tasha Jackson and Na-Tasha Jackson , their cousin Tamika Faulk , Buffie Almond Faulk (Tamika' sister-in-law), and Karen Edmond all are members of Lakeland High School's class of 1991, its first graduating class.
``The five of us got acquainted at Southwestern Intermediate School and really started hanging out in high school when we started to drive,'' Tamika Faulk said.
La-Tasha Jackson teaches first grade at Booker T. Washington Elementary, while her sister Na-Tasha and their three friends are all at Nansemond Parkway Elementary. Na-Tasha Jackson teaches fourth grade; Tamika Faulk, third; and Edmond and Buffie Faulk, second.
Some of them had offers with other school systems but chose Suffolk. Suffolk was the only system Na-Tasha Jackson applied to, and it was La-Tasha Jackson's first choice, although she applied to others.
Both wanted to be in the same system, but in different schools. ``As twins, it is easy to lose our individuality,'' Na-Tasha Jackson said.
While attending Norfolk State University, La-Tasha Jackson did her student teaching at Booker T. Washington Elementary from January to March this year. Then Na-Tasha Jackson taught there as a long-term substitute from April to June. ``Most of the faculty thought we were both just the one, same person,'' the twins agreed.
``I wanted to come back to my community to give back because I felt I received a great education in Suffolk,'' said Buffie Faulk, who has known since 10th grade that she wanted to be a teacher.
Tamika Faulk loved to play school from the earliest time she can remember but never thought she would be teaching in Suffolk. A Virginia Union University graduate, Faulk liked Richmond and considered employment offers there. ``But then I thought coming home to teach would be really neat, and I wanted to be with my family,'' she said.
The women, all 23 years old, remember fondly the junior high slumber parties and high school fun they shared not long ago. ``We reminisce all the time,'' Tamika Faulk said.
With the Faulks and Jacksons all living in the same Manning Road area and Edmond living downtown, they still get together frequently. Now, however, their conversations might center more on the trials and triumphs of first-year teachers, especially the first few days in the classroom.
If Buffie Faulk felt any first-week jitters, she could glance across the hallway and be reassured by a glimpse of Edmond, her roommate at Saint Paul College. Edmond reacquainted Buffie Faulk with Anthony Faulk , Tamika's older brother, and the couple got married in August.
Edmond, shortest of the quintet, laughs as she remembers sitting in the Nansemond Parkway cafeteria and being overlooked by an assistant principal who saw her from the back and assumed she was a student.
Tamika Faulk's biggest worry was that one of her students might get on the wrong school bus. ``That actually happened to me,'' La-Tasha Jackson said, explaining that a phone call from the misrouted student's mother cleared up the situation.
``On the first day, my kids were nervous and so quiet, I said, ``Thank God, He has blessed me,'' Na-Tasha Jackson said. By the second day, though, the class was feeling more comfortable - and more talkative.
How to keep the attention of more than 20 students was a top priority for all five teachers. Edmond suggested, ``You can't be a sitter, or you will lose the whole class. You have to be up and moving around all the time.''
As the Jacksons and Tamika Faulk remember their elementary school days, one teacher, Mary Martin , stands out as an inspiration. ``She was dedicated, loving, and always there when we had a problem,'' Tamika Faulk said.
The young teachers were delighted to find that Martin, a reading resource reacher at Nansemond Parkway, is now a colleague as well as a role model.
``I knew all five of the girls and thought it was fantastic that they were all coming back to Suffolk to teach,'' Martin said, adding that until now she has had only one former student come back to the Suffolk schools.
``I feel great because we can learn from each other,'' Martin said. ``They
Welcoming support and offers of help greeted all five of the new teachers, but Tamika Faulk felt especially grateful to have veteran teacher Deanna Sammons as her mentor. Sammons had been Buffie Faulk's third-grade teacher at Thomas Jefferson Elementary school.
``This is the first time I have had a student to come back and teach with me, and if feels good,'' Sammons said. ``You feel a sense of accomplishment when you see students you have taught do something to make a mark.''
William D. White was Hol-land Elementary's principal when the twins were in kindergarten there and now is principal at Nansemond Parkway. He remembers the twins as well as Tamika and Karen, who were at Kilby Shores when he was principal there.
How does he feel about having his former elementary students on his faculty? ``I am proud because it shows we have confidence in our students,'' he said. ``But what it makes me feel is old.'' MEMO: WHERE THEY TEACH
La-Tasha Jackson, first grade, Booker T. Washington Elementary
Na-Tasha Jackson, fourth grade; Tamika Faulk, third; Karen Edmond
and Buffie Faulk, second, Nansemond Parkway Elementary ILLUSTRATION: [Color] ON THE COVER
La-Tasha Jackson and Na-Tasha Jackson head to a gathering at
Nansemond Parkway Elementary School, where Na-Tasha teaches
fourth-graders. Staff photo by John H. Sheally III.
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
La-Tasha Jackson admires a display in the entrance of Nansemond
River Elementary School, where her twin sister teaches.
From left, Chrishaun Smith heads to his desk while teacher Tamika
Faulk works with Kenny Shoemaker on an assignment.
Buffie Faulk hangs a mural on her second-grade classroom wall.
Second-grader Comeka Carr helps teacher Karen Edmond rearrange desks
and chairs in the classroom at Nansemond Parkway Elementary School. by CNB