CAMILLA, Ga. (WALB) - Over the past 40 years, Miss Betsy Caldwell has taught grades six through twelve. For the last 25 years, she has taught English to upperclassmen at Westwood School.

Every month, WALB recognizes a South Georgia teacher for demonstrating excellence in the classroom. Miss Caldwell is this month’s A+ Educator!

“I have been close to retirement age for a long time now, passed it, I guess, now. So, I do have people ask me all the time when I’m gonna retire. I tell them I will when it stops being fun... And so far it hasn’t stopped being fun,” said Caldwell.

While second semester seniors are usually eager to move on to college, that’s not the case for Caldwell’s students.

“She really makes her students feel cared for, you know?” said Westwood senior Sam Summerlin, a student in Caldwell’s AP English class. “She’s almost like a friend to us. She teaches us, she’s hard on us, but she’s not too hard on us, right? She’s commanding, but she’s not overbearing. She holds us accountable.”

Caldwell motivates her students to rise to high expectations, and her approach has produced classes of well-equipped graduates.

“Our kids come back after going to college and say it’s not so tough now because they had Miss Betsy. She does a very good job here, and we are very proud of her,” said Westwood Headmaster, Keith Croft.

If you know an exceptional teacher that you would like to see recognized as an A+ Educator, click here to submit your nomination.

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