Harris County teacher gave students ‘a home.’ Now she’s Georgia theater educator of the year
A decade ago, about five years into teaching theater at Harris County High School, Valerie Longshore-Sargent felt she was pushing herself to the point of breaking, to the point of questioning the career she loved.
Then she realized her priority was misplaced. Instead of only focusing on producing better shows, her goal became teaching students how to be better human beings.
“If those students go on to pursue theater and make it all the way to Broadway or Hollywood, whatever they’re pursuing, that’s gravy, that’s the cherry,” Longshore told the Ledger-Enquirer. “But most of the kids are going to learn an appreciation and go, ‘Theater’s not scary. It’s something that I can do.’ And so once I sort of found that comfort, it’s been the best ride ever.”
Now, she is the Georgia Thespians 2020 Outstanding Theatre Educator.
A committee of veteran educators selected the winner from the undisclosed number of nominations.
“Valerie’s nomination really stood out,” Paul Hampton, the Georgia Thespians chapter director, told the L-E in an email. “… Valerie runs a multileveled program at her school. Students are given excellent instruction during class, but they also have many opportunities in after-school productions directed by Valerie. Her thespian troupe is active in the community with a number of volunteer activities.”
Hampton also said Longshore serves on the chapter board and is the new troupe director mentor where she helps first-year teachers develop best practices for running their own programs.
Harris County senior Emmie Roper, co-president of the school’s thespian troupe, wrote the nominating letter on behalf of her fellow theater students.
“Longshore has given all of us a home in the theater department,” Emmie, 17, told the L-E. “She’s helped us feel accepted, she’s loved us, she’s encouraged us, and she’s taught us. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the shows or you’re just a person she meets, she will treat you like you are someone she’s known forever.”
Longshore said she is “very embarrassed” by the award.
“Not that I don’t take this honor extremely to heart, but I don’t do it to be recognized,” she said. “… But if it brings light to the wonderful kids in my program or the kids who theater is a home for them, then I’ll bite that bullet and I’ll get over my little bit of anxiety.”
She is the second local recipient in the 13-year history of the award, said Hampton, the arts director at Brookstone School and retired from Columbus High School. Dotty Davis, now at Brookstone, won in 2018 while teaching at Lee County High School.
Longshore is a lifelong resident of LaGrange. She earned a bachelor’s degree in theater arts from LaGrange College and a master’s degree in theater education from Columbus State University. She is working on an educational leadership degree from Georgia Southern University.
The “human connection” of theater attracted her and kept her in the profession, Longshore said.
“You have to break down those walls and start that communication,” she said. “With students, sometimes it’s the first time all day that someone has said, ‘OK, tell me a little bit more about that.’ … Theater teaches you empathy. It teaches you to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. That makes you a better human being.”
The best part of being a theater teacher, Longshore said, is seeing the “small victories” of her students each day.
“You understood this concept; you can prove it to me on a quiz,” she said. “And then you get to see them outside of the classroom, the most shy kid really coming to life on stage or that you know has been fighting the insecurities or has been struggling with this personal issue, and they can set that aside for two hours a day and go, ‘OK, let me be someone else.’ And that’s incredibly rewarding.”
The toughest part about being a theater teacher, Longshore said, is sometimes telling her students something they don’t want to hear. She calls it the “art of criticism” and tries to teach students that feedback is all about improvement.
“You have to be candid,” she said. “I was taught a long time ago, you almost have to stand naked, and you have to be willing for someone to tell you all of the things that you’re doing wrong.”
Former students have told her, Longshore said, the honesty they learned in her program has helped them in their personal and professional lives, even if they don’t work in theater or the performance industry.
“Those are the little victories,” she said. “Am I super proud of my kids who are in New York right now? Absolutely. But I’m just as proud of the kids who get through those small victories in life.”
Those victories, Emmie said, include Longshore putting students in roles many thought they couldn’t do.
“Every time that she releases a cast list, we’re like, ‘Oh, my goodness. We never would have done that.’ But it always turns out so beautifully,’” Emmie said. “So I think that she truly sees potential in people that you never expect.”
Such feedback makes Longshore’s career more joyful and more meaningful compared to a decade ago.
“I love what I do every day I come into work,” she said. “I’m happy with the students I work with. I’m happy with the peers I’m surrounded by. I’m incredibly supported by the community and the administration. I have the best job ever. So don’t tell anybody.”
