Member Spotlight: Darla Morrow
ATPE member Darla Morrow is a 16-year educator and dyslexia interventionist at James R. Brooks Middle School at Greenwood ISD in Midland County. She was recently named a finalist for Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year. Her passion for teaching and ability to empower students with dyslexia to navigate their challenges with confidence make her an inspiration for educators everywhere.
ATPE sat down with Morrow to talk about her journey, what it means to make a difference in her community, and how she intends to “pay it back” one student at a time.
Tell us how you got started teaching and what led you to Greenwood ISD.
I graduated from Texas Tech University in 1994 with a BS in human development and family studies. While I was working as a juvenile detention officer, I began earning an elementary teacher certificate in a post-graduate program at Texas Tech. My intention was simply to get my certification and slip it into my back pocket. I was not really looking to become a teacher. But once I began my classwork, I quickly realized that teaching was a lot of fun. I was especially inspired by a professor who taught a science elementary specialization. She made science exciting.
My first teaching job was kindergarten at Plainview ISD. It was a wonderful experience and a solid foundation to my teaching career. However, after one year of teaching, I left for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to earn a master’s degree in Christian education. Over the next six years, I both attained that degree and worked in two different churches as a minister to children. While serving at First Baptist Lubbock, I met my husband.
In 2001, we were married, and I left the ministry to became a first grade teacher for Plains ISD. I taught first grade for two years. During this time, I became exposed to dyslexia and the programs that aided dyslexic students. In my second year of teaching there, we had our first-born son. And, at the end of that school year, we were already expecting son No. 2. It was then that I left teaching to be a stay-at-home mom to our boys.
I had full intention of applying back to Plains ISD as my boys entered school. However, our family life took a turn when my 5-year-old exclaimed that he was moving to Greenwood to go to kindergarten. It was at that time that we began exploring the idea of returning to my homeplace and my family’s farm in Midland County. In a few short months, we found ourselves within Greenwood ISD, the same place I had attended K-12 and graduated in 1990.
After six years out of the classroom, I became a second grade teacher, and during my three years in that position, I trained to become a dyslexia intervention teacher. Although I had no aspirations to leave the classroom, I became a dyslexia teacher in 2015 to help fill the needs of my district, and I spent two years serving dyslexic students on the elementary campus before moving to the middle school campus.
Over the past 10 years, I have served primarily as a dyslexia teacher but have also taught a literacy class; fifth grade social studies; sixth, seventh, and eighth grade reading resource classes; and served as a special education push-in teacher.
What does this nomination mean to you?
This nomination is overwhelming to me. I feel like I was just rocking along, doing my job, balancing my home life with personal and professional responsibilities, and then surprise! Being a dyslexia teacher can be like being on an island due to the nature of the curriculum and the daily confinement of being solo on a campus. I believe this nomination means that I’ve cognitively made a difference outside of my island as well, and that feels so rewarding.
Who inspired you to become a teacher?
Growing up, I had no intention of becoming a teacher. I attained my certification thinking I would like to have it, should I ever become a mom. Once I had my boys, it was extremely important to both my husband and I that I become a stay-at-home mom. That same desire spilled over into my career role of being a teacher because it allowed me to contribute to our family income while continuing to be on our boys’ schedule.
I credit my first principal, Sharon Wright, at La Mesa Elementary in Plainview, for establishing excellence level norms and standards that have always influenced me as a teacher and professional. And once I was already a teacher, my professional mentor, Mrs. Martindale, told me something I will never forget. I asked her how I could ever repay her for everything she did for me and my family. She said, “Just pay it back one student at a time.” This has been my life goal and mission ever since. Daily, I am reminded of the magic of public education and what it did for me, and this motivates me to continue to “pay it back” as an educator.
What has been the most significant challenge of your teaching career?
That would probably be continuing to teach during COVID. My district, like the rest of Texas, did
not return to campus following spring break in 2020. However, our instruction time did not stop. The learning curve during the months to follow was exhausting. Teaching over Zoom incorporated more brain muscles and internet bandwidth than we could muster most days.
In the fall, as we returned to the classroom, we taught with masks or clear shields, but it inhibited our ability to teach letter sounds. The toughest issue was perhaps trying to instruct a student who did not return for in-person instruction and had little to no internet service. In order to make any progress with his instruction, we conducted lessons over the phone. It certainly was not ideal, nor recommended within normal instruction, but it’s what it took to serve his deficits.
How long have you been an ATPE member, and what influenced you to join?
I have been an ATPE member for at least six years. I remember an ATPE representative speaking to our campus one day, and I was impressed with his description of the organization and the benefits they offer. And shortly after joining, it was necessary that I consult ATPE regarding a certification I’d recently attained. I remember being very frustrated and emotional about some decisions that had just come down from the state regarding that particular level of certification. Because of ATPE’s excellent handling of the situation and communication with me during the process, I plan to remain an ATPE member for the rest of my career.
What advice would you give to a new educator?
Classroom management and rapport with students is everything! It is so important to be strict when establishing classroom norms and be open and caring to build relationships with your students. Listen to what they share about themselves and come to know their likes, dislikes, their dog’s name, and even their favorite food—those little acknowledgements of who they are as a person feed into their self-worth.
Students who know that you care and are invested in them as an individual will typically work harder, behave better, and treat others with more respect. Having those relationships and classroom norms in place aids greatly in delivering lessons and enjoying a successful year.
Can you recall your favorite moment as an educator?
As a second grade teacher, I had a student who had basically no educational background and lacked many basic needs. But he won my heart over immediately, and in the years that followed it was known on my campus that he was “my student.” When he became a sixth grader, my principal called me to share that he was in need of a place to live. My family and I took him into our home for six months.
Following our time together, he moved into another home within our district, and then at the end of his sixth grade year, he left our district. This past May—seven years later—I received a text from him that read “I just wanted to tell u ima about to graduate” [sic]. That message just about made my heart explode.
He went on to say, “I was thinking this morning I should tell the ppl that help me get here so ty so much” [sic]. I don’t know if there has ever been another moment in teaching that filled my heart more than the thoughtfulness and kindness of his text message.
So what is next for you?
For the foreseeable future, I will continue doing what I am doing. I love my position, my co-workers, my administrators, my district, and my community. Greenwood is home to me in every sense of the word. My family farms and ranches within our district, and as long as our farm needs management and maintenance, my husband and I will stay right here. Furthermore, my district has recently passed a bond that will add so many needed buildings and resources to our growing district. I look forward to seeing all that be built and used by our students.
Congratulations, Darla, on being named a Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year finalist! We can’t wait to see what you accomplish next.
