THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, September 20, 1996            TAG: 9609190008
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A18  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Editorial 
                                            LENGTH:   45 lines

VIRGINIA BEACH'S AWARD-WINNING TEACHER FIRST IN HER CLASS

Parents are often filled with trepidation when they learn their child has been assigned a first-year teacher. But the students and parents at Virginia Beach's Bayside High School knew they had a winner the moment Grace D. Clark entered the history and geography classrooms last year.

Her enthusiasm and love of teaching were apparent from Day One and made up for any classroom inexperience. Students say she brought her subjects to life.

Now Bayside's secret is out. As staff writer Aleta Payne reported in Tuesday's paper, Clark received one of 51 Sallie Mae First Class Teacher Awards which are given out to one teacher from each state and the District of Columbia each year. The awards are sponsored by the Student Loan Marketing Association which provides higher-education loans. The winners are selected by a panel appointed by the American Association of School Administrators.

Winners must excel in instructional skills and at interaction with students, faculty, staff and parents.

Best of all, Clark is an alumna of Bayside High School, one of the city's toughest schools.

``This is my school,'' Clark said, explaining why she waited an entire year for an opening at Bayside rather than start teaching elsewhere. ``It was my answer to all the criticism.''

Maybe Grace Clark is a great teacher because she took so long to find her calling. Valedictorian of her class at Bayside, she began her first year at William and Mary the following September, only to drop out and go to work. She went back to William and Mary years later after garnering many life experiences and a two-year degree from a community college.

Clark toyed with the notion of going into accounting or law before deciding that she wanted to teach.

And what a teacher she is. Grace Clark is the kind of instructor who makes an indelible impression upon her students - and a difference in their young lives. Wherever they go in life, Grace Clark's students will no doubt recall with pleasure the short time they spent under her tutelage.

May all of Hampton Roads' first-year teachers draw inspiration from Grace Clark. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

GRACE D. CLARK by CNB