Betty Autry has nearly two decades of teaching experience under her belt and currently teaches at St. Francis Xavier Elementary.

Autry is a finalist for the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce’s Educator of the Year award. One elementary and one secondary teacher of the year will be announced at the Chamber Luncheon in February. The winner of each award will receive $1,000 from Ameristar Casino and the runners-up for each award will receive $500 from Mutual Credit Union.  

Autry earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Delta State University. She said education is a process of continually building on students’ bases of knowledge.

“When introducing a new topic in math, I think it is important to let students talk about what they already know,” she said. “It is my goal as a teacher to help them build on that knowledge. Some students grasp mathematical procedures easily; some do not. Some of the methods I use to reach students are allowing them to illustrate problems. When learning multiplication, I start with repeated addition, then progress to equal grouping with illustrations, then progress to the actual multiplication problem.”

Autry said it is also important for students to feel connected to the world around them.

“One of the third-grade science topics is investigating elements on the periodic table of elements and compounds that make up some of those elements,” she said. “Students work together to discover what elements make up common, everyday items they know about, such as salt, sugar, soda. They have also learned more about what minerals and nutrients make up the foods they eat, and how important it is to make better food choices. These lessons seem to have excited my students about science, and they share this with parents.”

And Autry said seeing the outcomes of these teaching techniques is always rewarding.

“Observation and checking work gives me insight on who missed what information,” she said. “For instance, talking about and understanding math vocabulary and properties helps students’ reasoning when working problems. I see the mistakes and address them one-on-one so they can correct them.”

Autry said she makes it a point to remember every day with students is another opportunity to impart knowledge, and credited her mother with setting the example for her to follow.

“I teach because my mom taught someone something every day,” she said.