Kinchafoonee Primary School’s 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year
Mrs. Mandy Smith
Mrs. Mandy Smith is a teacher at Kinchafoonee Primary School with 19 years of experience teaching art. Her love of art began at an early age where she was encouraged and inspired by her talented mother. At the young age of 14, she fell in love with teaching when she taught ballet and tap classes at Murphy Dance Studio. It wasn’t until she was in college majoring in fine art that she realized she could marry her two passions of art and teaching. Mrs. Smith earned both her B.S. and M.Ed. in Art Education from Valdosta State University and has currently earned her Specialists in Teacher Leadership from Georgia Southwestern University. Throughout her 19 years of teaching she has taught in 3 different school districts, 5 different schools and 11 different grade levels. She has been teaching art here at KPS for 6 years.
Mrs. Smith is from Albany, GA where her roots run deep and her love for family and friends is strong. She has been married to Mark for 17 years and has a son, Ryder. Ryder is in 6th grade and attends Lee Co. Middle West. She keeps the roads hot driving her son around to all of his sporting events and loves every second that she gets to watch him play ball. She loves spending time with family and friends and of course, painting and creating in her art studio at home.
Mrs. Smith’s teaching philosophy is, “Mistakes happen all the time, how are you going to learn from them?” She wants her students to feel comfortable every time they step in her classroom. It is her goal to make sure that all students know they are loved and supported by her and that her class is a safe place to create, play, and perform. Art comes in many forms just like students, and Mrs. Smith works hard to show her students that they are capable of creating amazing art no matter how many mistakes happen along the way. Filling the hallway with her students' art brings joy to her heart and she hopes it encourages her students to continue creating masterpieces. Moving beyond her students, Mrs. Smith takes her role as the art teacher very seriously. She not only wants her students to feel supported by her, but also her colleagues. She hopes that her colleagues know that they can come to her for support and encouragement where they can collaborate together to build a positive school culture for their students. When she leaves school each day, she hopes that she was able to spread art and love to as many people as possible.