“Hundred miles an hour with my hair on fire!” was a quote North Lamar Assistant Superintendent Shelley McDowell often heard Stephen Smallwood use to describe himself. “And boy did that phrase ever fit him!” she said.
Smallwood, an English instructor at North Lamar High School, was chosen the North Lamar Secondary Teacher of the Year only to move forward earning the Region 8 Secondary Teacher of the Year in June.
Normally, three elementary and three secondary school educators are selected from the 40 regional Teachers of the Year from each of the state’s 20 education service centers. However, due to Smallwood’s retirement in May, he was not eligible to move forward to the State of Texas Teacher of the Year competition.
“While they single out an individual, it really means that North Lamar ISD has been singled out,” said Smallwood of his regional honor. “I’m simply a teacher representative. There are a hundred more like me,” he said humbly.
Smallwood was among the regional finalists who were honored Thursday at Region 8. “Stephen was always on the go planning for and inspiring not only his students but also his fellow teachers,” said McDowell who was among those attending the recognition in his honor.
Smallwood was named the State Teacher of the Year in Oklahoma in 1996 and could have been named a state finalist on this side of the border had he been eligible. “I retired and it was time for a rotation,” said Smallwood of his decision to leave teaching after 44 years.
“I’m very pro-Panther!” said Smallwood. “It’s not all about me. It’s about a system that works. There’s so much good that goes on in a classroom every day, but not all of it is made known.”
“My school (North Lamar) is the best school in all of Texas,” Smallwood proudly said. “If you don’t believe that, then you’re in the wrong business!”
Smallwood, a resident of Rattan, Oklahoma, is the son of Jane and Leo Smallwood, and the grandson of the late Herb and Mae Akard of Finley and the late Bill and Lydie Smallwood of Cloudy, Oklahoma.