COVINGTON, Ga. —Misty Morgan recently was named Newton County School System’s (NCSS) 2022 Media Specialist of the Year.
The Newton High School media specialist will now represent NCSS in the South Metro Regional Library Media Specialist of the Year competition.
Newton County Theme School media specialist Ali Geigerman; Porterdale Elementary School media specialist April Davis; and Alcovy High School media specialist Marneda Ivey were finalists for the district award.
“I’m absolutely happy and thrilled to be named NCSS Media Specialist of the Year,” said Morgan. “It’s a lot of emotion because I am really young at this, and I did not have the training that a lot of my fellow media specialist and friends do, and I’ve gone to them for so much and I’m so glad that they’ve been able to get something back from me.”
This marks Morgan’s eighth year in education and her fourth as a media specialist. She joined the NCSS team eight years ago as a social studies teacher at Newton High before transitioning to the school’s media specialist position four years later.
Morgan noted the recognition is even more special because she didn’t originally have plans to pursue that as a career. When the position was available, she wasn’t event considering it for herself.
“The funny thing about it is that I didn’t think I wanted it until the opportunity presented itself,” said Morgan.
“We were looking for a media specialist and I had run a kids’ section at a bookstore before and started doing programs and clubs and activities with kids and I fell in love with it — that’s what got me into teaching. So, when they needed a media specialist, I was like, ‘No, I’m a teacher, I’m good.’ And then I went home that night and all of these ideas just hit me of how I could get my kids who are so burned out on reading to get back in the library and to learn how to do their own research
and make their projects what they wanted it to be and find a relaxation and a comfort in reading and working on their own that a lot of them had forgotten could be there.”
According to Morgan, the media center plays a vital role in student learning and success.
“For me personally and what I’ve definitely tried to show, is that the media specialist and the media center is central to the school,” Morgan explained.
“It is the hub. Everything that students need to know how to do to be successful, whether they are going into a career or college or just for the rest of their life, to be able to find their own information and answer their own questions is central for the media center.
“They can come here, they can research, they can read, they can find their information, they can print, scan, email attach, whatever they need to do. All of those now life skills in today’s world are completely essential for our kids to be successful adults, where they don’t have to depend on anybody else. They can be as independent and as self-sufficient as they can possibly be.
“So, it’s my goal and role, to make sure that whatever the teachers need, whatever the students need, I may not know it until they ask, but it’s my goal and my personal mission to figure it out and make it happen.”
Adam Phyall, NCSS director of Technology and Media Services, said, “Misty has done an amazing job in her role.
“She really has had an ability to make a connection with the students and staff here at Newton High. We’re just so excited and ecstatic to have here to bring consistency to this role and really take library learning commons to a whole other level here in Newton County.”
Shannon Buff, principal of Newton High School, said, “Ms. Morgan is an amazing media specialist. She goes above and beyond in service to the students, faculty and families of Newton High.
“While she is no longer in the classroom, she has continued to educate through her role as a media specialist. Often, she is the first to arrive and the last to leave, as she works to provide opportunities for our students to grow in their love of reading. Ms. Morgan is well deserving of this honor, and we are very proud of her.”
