Crestview Elementary 5th grade reading teacher Darlene Greenlee was recently named Region 8 Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Greenlee was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi and attended Mississippi State University. She and her husband moved to Texas in 1994, where she continued her education at Texas A&M University - Texarkana, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Master of Education in Educational Administration. She has been teaching a total of 18 years, the last two of those at Crestview. The Greenlee’s have two children, Lexi, a NICU nurse at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, and Riley, who is employed with Luminant in Tatum, Texas.
Mrs. Greenlee says she knew her calling was to be a teacher from an early age. “ Ironically, my dream of becoming a teacher began when I was in 5th grade,” she said. “ I was in such awe of my 5th grade teacher. I admired the way she interacted with the students in the class. She never failed to make learning fun and we all loved her. We couldn’t wait to get to her class and never wanted to leave. She not only inspired me to want to become a teacher, she inspired me to become the kind of teacher I am today.”
And the kind of teacher she is today is the kind every parent longs for their child to experience, according to Crestview/Oakview Elementary principal Melissa Reid. “Mrs. Greenlee believes in each of her students with her entire heart. She knows without a doubt that they have abilities that even they don’t realize they have,” said Reid. “She builds them up and then pushes them to do their best. The students live up to her expectations because they know how much she cares for them. Mrs. Greenlee creates an atmosphere in her classroom that promotes learning, fun, and excitement. She is always willing to help other teachers in any way possible, and I can count on her to go above and beyond for our school.”
