Suzanne McCall, a fourth grade science teacher at Cathelene Thomas Elementary School, was chosen as President-Elect of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association by a group of her peers last week in Austin.
According to TCTA website, the organization is the leading teacher association in the state and represents 50,000 teachers.
When her responsibilities start, she will travel and meet thousands of different teachers. McCall said she is looking forward to speaking with the younger ones the most.
“It almost seems like yesterday to me where I was trying to make sure I had everything figured out and just let them know it’s got to be more than just inside your classroom. You’ve got to be able to speak up for your profession,” McCall said.
McCall was born and raised in Slaton. She attended Slaton high school and Texas Women’s University. After graduation she returned to Slaton to begin her career and be close to her family.
“I wanted her to be proud, my mom,” McCall said. “She was one of the hardest workers.”
McCall started teaching in 1997, the same year she joined TCTA on a local level.
She’s been at Cathelene Thomas Elementary for nearly 20 years and said strong women leaders like Slaton ISD Superintendent Julee Becker and Principal Lori Andrus encouraged her.
“Her passion and her dedication is with classroom teachers with public school teachers,” Andrus said. “She wants to better everything for us and her passion is also with the students that those teachers care for.”
McCall can also thank TCTA for introducing her to her husband.
“I met him at a convention in Austin in 2007 and we’d been teaching 20 years just right next store to each other and never had run into each other or anything,” McCall said. “He lived in Lubbock, I lived in Lubbock, it was just a funny thing.”
McCall said she’s proud to represent Slaton and hopes others will see how special it is.
“This is how I became a great citizen, I learned it from the teachers here,” McCall said.
McCall will start her duties in June.
