PRINCIPAL COMES FULL CIRCLE

Teacher, student come full circle 30 years later

Rita Parks Canaday recently retired from J.C. Magill Elementary School after teaching for almost 44 years in the South Gwinnett Cluster. She started her teaching career at Britt Elementary school where she started teaching second grade for many years, then moved to third grade.

In her third-grade classroom is where she first met a cute little frecklefaced, brown-haired girl named Tonya Hudgins, who is now Dr. Tonya Burnley. She was just as happy as she is now, always smiling and just a delight to teach. Young Tonya was a bright, very responsible young lady, but very chatty. “‘Needs to control talking,’ was on all my report card said,” Burnley said, adding it is still true today. “I love to talk.”

After 30 years of teaching, Canaday retired, but went back to teaching part time as an Early Intervention Program teacher. One day she received a phone call from a “Dr. Tonya Burnley,” who was looking for an EIP teacher. Burnley said, “you might remember me” and Canaday said, “I don’t know a Dr. Burnley.” Burnley replied, “you may remember me as Tonya Hudgins.” Of course they both screamed out loud for a few minutes as Canaday did remember her freckle-faced third-grade student. Burnley hired Canaday to work for her as an EIP teacher at Gwin Oaks and when she took the principal post at J.C. Magill she brought Canaday with her. Canaday recently retired from teaching in 2020.

“The moral of the story is, be good to your students as you never know when they may be your boss,” Canaday said.

- Kelly McAloon, Executive Director, Snellville Tourism and Trade ^^^ From left, J.C. Magill Elementary School Principal Dr. Tonya Burnley and her former teacher, recently retired employee Rita Parks Canaday. The two were reunited as Canaday was Brumley’s third grade teacher at Britt Elementary 30 years ago.

<<< HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY - Edna Gannell Ewing Cofer will reach life’s milestone of 100 years young March 18. She was born 1921 in a farm house on what is now Highpoint Road. Until she went into assisted living she has lived most of her life within three miles of her birthplace, much of it within the City of Snellville. On Dec. 24, 1938 she married James D. Cofer, who became a City Councilman and later Mayor of Snellville. They were blessed with one son who also served as a city councilman. Edna chose the role of full-time wife, mother and homemaker. Yet some of her community services are support of the early school lunchroom program, active member of the Auxiliary to the newly formed American Legion Post, and long-term member of the Snellville Methodist Church, where she served on several church boards/committees. She may be the oldest member of her Church, the Snellville Historical Society, and the High School Alumni Association. Her baby dress, handmade/hand sewn by her grandmother, is framed on display in the Historical Society.