Regina Renot-Mattei teaches second grade at Bovina Elementary, where she was named Teacher of the Year in 2024.

Renot-Mattei 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.  

She has been teaching for 15 years and earned an associates degree in graphic design from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College; a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from the University of Southern Mississippi; and a Master of Education degree in reading literacy from Belhaven University.

Renot-Mattei said the implementation of the Leader in Me program in Vicksburg Warren School District schools has made a huge difference in her students’ academic success. 

“Every day since starting the Leader in Me, our class is engaged in a Leader in Me lesson or activities,” she said. “It is so very important to instill habits that (the students) will remember and practice for the rest of their lives. Leader in Me connects students to their world and their community around them by helping them reflect and make actionable goals.”

Teaching second grade, Renot-Mattei said reading is a primary focus for her students.

“For reading interventions, I begin early by assessing oral fluency,” she said. “If a student is not reading above 30 words per minute, I then use a phonic mastery to assess what gaps students may be missing. Then small groups and centers are adjusted as the year progresses with each weekly assessment.”

And Renot-Mattei said she is always moved when she finds out her passion for filling those gaps for students has been passed down to a new generation of teachers.

“One of my most moving educational experiences would have to be when I had a former student reach out to me via Facebook to tell me that they are becoming a teacher because of me,” she said. “This student expressed how they were going through a hard time in their life, but because of me they felt warm and safe.” 

As for herself, Renot-Mattei said she has a simple reason for being in the classroom.

“I teach because I asked God, ‘How can I serve your children?’ He took me literally,” she said.