By Fred Guarino
The Lowndes Signal

A Central High School teacher was recently among those honored by WVAS and featured on the nation’s Teacher Wall Project.

“When I received the criteria for the nominee, I knew instantly who deserved such an honor,” Central High Principal Peggy Grant said.

The person Grant was talking about was Central High teacher Gwendolyn Cosby, who was among teachers honored by WVAS-FM, the Voice of Alabama State University and a National Public Radio station, during a dinner held Tuesday, Sept.18 at the Capital City Club in Montgomery.

This event was the culminating activity of the nation’s Teacher Wall project.

“Mrs. Cosby is a great teacher who has the best interest of the students at heart. She was my teacher.  She deserves the honor and recognition,” Grant said.

“It was truly an awesome event,” said Lowndes County School Superintendent Dr. Daniel Boyd of the dinner at which Cosby was honored. He said WVAS received a special grant to honor outstanding teachers.

“We are really proud of her,” Boyd said.

Candy Chapel, station manager for WVAS, said the Teacher Wall Winner, was a project funded by a national grant and is an electronic wall “where video is posted of teachers from across the nation.”

Chapel said in 90 seconds, teachers explain in their own words why teaching is important, what it means to them or why they are so committed to teaching.

She said the funding came from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Center for Media Engagement and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“We decided to honor rural and/or minority teachers, Chapel said. “We got recommendations from principals or superintendents or even people in the community about outstanding teachers that they knew.”

She said three teachers were selected from Black Belt counties and two from Montgomery County.

She said the videos are posted to national website www.teacherwall.org.

“My greatest success as a teacher has been to see my students succeed… that’s the greatest feeling that you can get… to see that you have helped someone else succeed in life to reach their goals,” Cosby said in an interview that went to make the video posted by ASU.

“Give a person a fish and they will have a meal, but teach a person how to fish and they will eat for a lifetime,” Cosby quoted her own mother as saying. “I try to teach a child something new every day,” Cosby said.