First-grade teacher Woodrow Price is looking to right a wrong he has had to deal with in the public education system.

The Sherman Avenue Elementary School teacher said he failed fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh grades growing up.

“I had teachers who always told me what I could not do, and I wanted to show them what I could do,” he said. “Because I was failed by the public school system, I wanted to come into the public school system to make a difference. To be an advocate for children and other teachers.”

Price said he focuses on teaching the whole child — socially, emotionally and intellectually — and works to give students meaning and purpose in their lessons. It is also important to him to create a safe environment in the classroom where students can feel comfortable trying new things.

“I consistently ensure that my classroom is conducive to learning and strive to connect the curriculum to real life experience,” he said. “I have created an environment that’s conducive to teaching and learning; an environment where mistakes are acceptable.”

Price wanted to educate little ladies and gentlemen so he started the Sherman Beauties and Beaus program at the school to teach boys and girls manners and etiquette from the way they dress to how they act.

It is also a priority of his to be a good male figure in the lives of his students. A way he implements positive male role models is through the Real Men Read program he started in the school. Through the program, men from the community read to students once a month.

Price also enjoys giving back. In December he was able to give all 30 of his students a bicycle for Christmas with a combination of his own money and the help of donors.

But most of all he wants to make a lasting impact on his students.

“I want children to remember me as a caring and committed source of encouragement. I want them to remember that I challenged them to be their very best,” he said.

Price received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in elementary education from Alcorn State University, and he earned an educational specialist degree in educational leadership from Mississippi College.

Price taught fifth grade for eight years in Port Gibson. He has found it fulfilling to see many of his students begin to chase their dreams as they have started their careers.

“The best part of being an educator is to see your children grow,” Price said.

When he came to Sherman Avenue in 2015, he spent one year teaching second grade and is currently in his first year in first grade. In the past, he has also been an adjunct instructor at Alcorn.

Price is currently the president of the Vicksburg Association of Educators and is involved in the Mississippi Association of Educators and the National Education Association. Price is a deacon at Cedar Grove M.B. Church and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

He is also currently working to expand Vicksburg’s Little Free Libraries to schools and barber shops.

Twenty-one teachers in Warren County were nominated for teacher of the year.

The Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce have selected a panel of educators to interview each school’s chosen teacher and will choose one elementary and one secondary teacher of the year on Feb. 15.

Both teachers will receive $1,000.