Diane Ray to Retire After Nearly 50 Years of Service to K-12 Education

By Dolly Purvis

June 30 will mark the first time in nearly 50 years that PAGE College Services Representative (CSR) Diane Ray will have no plans to be in a classroom. Come July 1, she will turn her full attention to travel, family, friends, former colleagues, and volunteering in various capacities as she begins the next phase of her journey – her retirement.

Throughout her five-decade career, Ray has held many titles: teacher, principal, PAGE board member and president, and PAGE staff member.

A PAGE member since 1988 and on staff for 18 years, leaving PAGE and her interactions with educators – especially younger teachers and teacher candidates – will bring enormous change, she said. But Ray firmly believes change is necessary and inevitable and asks us to grow, often in ways we cannot imagine at first.

“Change is difficult but inevitable,” Ray said. “Resistance is natural, but change brings tremendous growth. Sometimes, we don’t understand how valuable change is. Look at all the great opportunities we get with it!”

On the other hand, Ray knows she will miss being a teacher every day.

“I’m going to miss the classroom, but I’m really going to miss all the contacts terribly,” she added. “It takes a village to teach a child, and it takes a village to be an educator. We rely on family, colleagues, parents, the people in schools, and PAGE. As educators, we need to hang on to our village. It will always carry us through.”

Ray started her career in education after graduating from her beloved University of North Georgia (North Georgia College at the time). She taught a single year in Sierra Vista,

Arizona, before spending the next 31 years as an educator in Cobb County, where she grew up, eventually becoming a principal. At PAGE, she has served in various capacities –always teaching or facilitating teaching. Most recently, her attention has been laser-focused on ensuring that teacher candidates and novice educators are ready to meet the challenges of their first years in the classroom.

Hundreds of teacher candidates throughout north Georgia have benefitted from PAGE College Services’ signature Teaching 411 and Career Launch learning modules, which Ray has taken into colleges of education from the largest to the smallest.

Ray says she is humbled by the growth she has witnessed at PAGE.

“We have made tremendous strides at PAGE,” she said “When I first came on board, we were not working with other agencies, but we became highly involved with GAEL (Georgia Association of Education Leaders), GACTE (Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education), and the RESAs (Regional Education Service Agencies). All of them really embraced what we wanted to do. They embraced the quality of professional learning we provide, and it hit the needs within Georgia classrooms.”

What advice does Ray want to leave to the education community she has served so diligently for so long? Never stop caring and never stop learning.

“Care for each of your students as individuals and care about their success,” Ray explained. “It’s important to have a deep connection with students, and the way to get that is to understand them and see what they need.”

“And professional learning is key,” she continued. “It may come from an education guru, or it may come from your colleague next door. Do not be afraid to ask for help. We all need help! Go after it. Get all the joys out of it. Keep growing and learning!”

By Dolly Purvis

Andrea Bridges, an educator at Lowndes High School, is the latest teacher-leader to join the PAGE Board of Directors, and, for her, “teacher” and “leader” are two words that belong together.

Leadership is a natural outgrowth of Bridges’ work and, as the member representing District 8 on the PAGE board, she looks forward to working “with like-minded people who share a passion for kids, and who work to be a voice to and for Georgia educators and students.”

“My first meeting as a PAGE board member was one of the most positive experiences I have encountered in education,” said Bridges. “Everyone was positive, helpful, and the epitome of what I believe an educator should be. I’m a lifelong PAGE member,” she continued, “and the best aspect is knowing that I have a collective group that advocates for me, my career, and my students. Our PAGE leaders advocate for quality educational opportunities for Georgia students and quality work environments for educators.”

In recent years, as Bridges has assumed leadership roles to work for the betterment of her school and community, she has turned her attention to shepherding students who want to be educators.

Bridges answered the call in 2018 to become Lowndes’ Teaching as a Profession Pathway (TAPP) Coordinator. She also said “yes” when Leadership Lowndes asked her to join its class of 2020. Her leadership as an educator includes several additional distinctions:

• Lowndes High School Teacher of the Year (2009)

• Lowndes High School Parent and Community Involvement Focus Team (2018 - 2020)

• Literacy Design Collaborative (2012 - 2013)

• Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement (2009 - 2010)

• National Council on Teaching and America’s Future (2008 - 2009)

But it’s not simply being a leader that Bridges relishes. Rather, it’s being the kind of leader who moves people and organizations forward.

“Everyone, regardless of occupation, is a leader in the community in some capacity,” Bridges said. “Now, whether or not everyone is leading in a positive direction is different.

Bridges, center in top photo, with her students at the Future Georgia Educators Day at Middle Georgia State University. In the bottom photo, Bridges, left, takes a moment to pose with one of her students during state Future Georgia Educators competition.

Teachers are the connection between students and parents, businesses and schools, and between students themselves.”

In her role as Lowndes’ TAPP instructor, Bridges hopes to model leadership for her students as they become educators.

“I hope that when they leave my classroom, they understand how important being a teacher truly is,” she said. “Sometimes, one teacher is the only thing that keeps a student going. This realization is essential whether they choose to pursue a career in education or not. Regardless, I want them to leave with the understanding that teachers change lives, every day, one student at a time.”

Bridges has been a faculty member at Lowndes High School since 1998 where she was an English/ Language Arts teacher prior to moving to CTAE as the TAPP Coordinator. Prior to that, she was retention coordinator, evening adjunct teacher coordinator, and lead English and psychology teacher at Valdosta Technical College from 1995-1998.

She earned her degrees from Valdosta State University: Bachelor of Science in education, secondary English, and English (1995), Master of Education in instructional technology (1997), and education specialist in educational leadership (2001). She added a gifted endorsement in 2010 and her CTAE certification in Family and consumer sciences in 2018.

Bridges, however, did not set out to become an educator. As an undergraduate student, she aspired to be an accountant, but a desire to interact with and serve others changed her plans.

“I craved interaction with people and knew I was not going to get that sitting in an office most days,” Bridges said. “I enjoyed reading and writing, so I changed my major to Secondary Education, English. My innate desire to help, to fix, to mend lends itself well to education. I genuinely enjoy my students!” n

• Wondering who to reach out to when you have questions about your PAGE membership?

• Have an issue or concern that you need to bring to PAGE’s attention — but aren’t sure what department or staff member to contact?

• Interested in scheduling a Code of Ethics presentation at your school or district office?

• Looking for information about a Future Georgia Educators (FGE) program or event?

• Need to know the name of your PAGE building contact or how to subscribe to PAGE Capitol Reports?

For answers to these questions and more, call or email your PAGE Membership Services Representative (MSR) or College Services Representative (CSR). You’ll find MSR contact information on the map to your right and CSR contact information below. If preferred, send an email to membership@pageinc.org.

Michele Dechman District 2 mdechman@pageinc.org