Why is she Muscogee’s Teacher of the Year? We asked her students and principal
Ask them to describe their theater teacher at Wynnton Arts Academy, and fifth-graders Araya Williams and Peter Vickery, as well as principal Jackie Mumpower, gush so much good stuff about Amanda Zarate, they clearly endorse the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation’s decision to select her as the Muscogee County School District 2025 Teacher of the Year.
“She’s such an important part of our school,” Araya, 11, told the Ledger-Enquirer. “The school is an amazing place to be in, but Ms. Zarate just helps elevate that and helps bring in the energy.”
Araya considers Zarate inspiring, helping her gain confidence after moving to Wynnton three years ago as a shy second-grader.
“She gets us,” Araya said. “She even knows our slang. … She wants to help us be our best in whatever situation we’re in, and she cares about everything we do. If anyone has anything going on, she’s always there for us. We can tell her anything. She understands how we feel. … I love Ms. Zarate so much and what she does in the classroom.”
Peter, 10, noted the theater skills he learns in Zarate’s class help him succeed in core academic subjects.
“If we’re presenting a project,” he told the L-E, “I know how to speak to a group and look at them and speak up so they can hear me.”
Peter said he respects Zarate because she is “very kind.”
“I came here in third grade,” he said, “and she helped me realize that I had a skill that I unlocked and thought I never had. … She’s very passionate about helping me get my work done and getting a good grade.”
Peter also is grateful for Zarate being an inclusive listener. He recalled Zarate acting on his suggestion to change a part in one of the school’s plays.
“It made me feel like I am someone, “ he said, “like I am important.”
Mumpower calls Zarate’s approach “teaching the whole child” at this Columbus school, where all K-5 students are scheduled to be in Zarate’s theater class for 40 minutes each week.
“She’s teaching life skills to our boys and girls,” Mumpower told the L-E. “… She teaches them how to talk, how to communicate, how to use their body language, their facial expressions, their tone of voice — all of that. And it’s not just in drama class. It’s anywhere she is in the building, and that truly shows other teachers how to also do the same.”
Mumpower sees Zarate boost the students’ self-esteem.
“She instills that in them so they are more confident in math, science or whatever,” Mumpower said. “… When you walk in her classroom, it’s never dull. It’s always high energy and positive affirmations. She keeps the kids engaged.”
The day after MEEF announced during Thursday night’s gala that Zarate, 35, is the winner of this award among 54 nominees, the L-E visited with her for an interview. Here are highlights from that conversation, edited for brevity and clarity:
What’s your reaction to being named Muscogee County Teacher of the Year?
“It still doesn’t feel real. I feel very blessed. I feel very grateful. I feel nervous, I feel excited. … I’ve been really blessed with the people and community that I have around me — teachers, family, teachers that have become my family.”
What’s the impact of MEEF conducting MCSD’s Teacher of the Year gala, where a sold-out crowd of more than 1,100 folks honor the nominees?
“I just want to thank them. … I knew they did great things, but if you’re not a part of it, you can’t truly see the hard work the board members put in. … And the people who donate to the foundation, it just allows them to help teachers feel like they’re celebrated.”
As Muscogee’s Teacher of the Year, you have a platform to advocate for education issues. What’s the most important education issue you want to represent?
“There are way too many to pick one. … Just making sure that teachers are confidently equipped with the right tools to have access to all parts of education in the classroom. … Making sure that we have professional development opportunities that are specific for learning how to modify things in the classroom, accommodate students that need it in an appropriate way, with researched practices, up-to-date research practice to fill our toolbox. … Also providing somehow in the district those safe places, safe spaces within the schools, where students and teachers feel confident and comfortable coming to leadership with things. I think sometimes all it takes is one bad experience for a teacher, and then sometimes they don’t feel like they can reach out because of the one time they tried to reach out and there’s not a hand to grab it on the other end.”
After you served four years in the U.S. Army, why did you decide to become a teacher eight years ago?
“Well, I have hours that are good for me to be there for my son in the best way that a single mother can … But on top of that, I’m a teacher because I felt like I didn’t have any teachers that saw me and heard me and could relate to me and the things that I was going through, especially in the early elementary years, when you don’t have your voice quite yet.”
How did your years in the U.S. Army inform your teaching philosophy?
“I went into the Army — I think I was 19 or 20 — because I wanted to do something that I felt mattered. I wanted to do something that felt bigger than myself. … After I got out of the Army in 2014, I was at Columbus State University doing coursework to become a theater educator, and one of my assignments was to create my philosophy of education. What are your values? Well, all I knew about values was from the Army (loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage). So that was gonna be it. Then I get into the classroom a couple years later, and I’m like, ‘This isn’t going to work.’ It’s not like the Army. … Nobody’s saluting you. They need guidance. … So what I took from the military into the classroom is having clear directions, having a clear focus and objective. … If there’s a problem, where do we go to find the answers to fix it? Yes, there’s a chain of command, but we’re all problem solvers.”
School districts often go through teacher shortages in various subject areas. How should they recruit and retain more teachers?
“I’ll start with the retaining teachers part. It’s doing things like the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation showing teachers they are valued. … One of the key things also is making sure teachers are paid enough … even offering incentives. … On the recruiting side, that’s a difficult question. … I think having different avenues for people to become a teacher is great. So, if they don’t want to go the traditional route right out of high school, maybe they figure out later on in life that teaching is something that they want to do. Having those alternative programs to become a teacher, to get certification, is awesome.”
Why do you think theater education is important?
“I think that argument is easier today than it was many years ago. … Your kids are stuck to a screen in any kind of way that they can on YouTube, TikTok, social media. Not all of it’s bad, but a lot of it is not healthy for a child. Studies have shown, if a child, spends all their time in front of a screen, they really miss out on having an opportunity to build social skills. … I truly believe that theater is a skill where we’re not just acting in here. It’s a misconception. And I wish more people knew that we are learning social skills.”
You have a reputation at Wynnton for connecting well with students. How do you do that?
“I wish I could say that it was like this life-changing experience for me, but it’s so normal for me to reach out and help students like that. It doesn’t feel like a grand gesture because I’m just being myself and they’re just being themselves, and I’m doing it every day. … I think the joy comes from seeing them use their voice and speak up for themselves. I think the joy comes from them being excited to be at school. I think the joy comes from them being excited when I see their excitement, when they want to tell me about what they’re doing outside of the drama classroom. … I just ask them about what they’re interested in, what they’re doing. It helps that my son is the age of a lot of my students, so I’ll mention (to students) some things he likes, and they’re like, ‘How does she know that?’”
Not every adult is paid to be a teacher, but every adult can have teachable moments with children. So what’s your top tip to help us make those moments successful?
“Listen. That’s it. Listen first. You can’t do anything (to help children) if you’re not open to listening to them. … Sometimes people aren’t really listening; they’re waiting for their turn to talk. … But when you’re listening, that person is going to tell you something that’s going to resonate with you. You’re going to find something that you’ve got in common, and you’re going to share a passion, and that’s when the connection starts.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 1:20 PM.
