Photos by Erin Nelson.
Maghan Craig, left, a first grade teacher at Bluff Park Elementary School, and Kevin Pughsley, a sixth grade Earth science teacher at Berry Middle School, were named Hoover’s Teachers of the Year for the 2022-23 school year.
If you walk past Maghan Craig’s classroom at Bluff Park Elementary School, don’t be surprised if you hear students singing.
She’s not the choir director at the school, but she does teach her first grade students songs to help them remember concepts, and they often sing those songs as they transition from one activity to another.
“She truly embraces every second of the day as a teachable moment and an opportunity for engagement,” said Erica Adams, Bluff Park’s literacy specialist, in a letter nominating Craig for the Hoover City Schools 2022-23 Elementary Teacher of the Year.
That’s one of many positive traits that helped Craig win the award.
Kevin Pughsley, a sixth-grade science teacher at Berry Middle School, was chosen as Hoover’s Secondary Teacher of the Year for the district. And now Craig and Pughsley, both known for their mastery of content, leadership in instruction and creative and hands-on learning techniques, are in consideration for Teacher of the Year for the state’s school board district 3.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Maghan Craig, a first grade teacher at Bluff Park Elementary School, stands in a circle as her students play a counting game.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Above: Kevin Pughsley, a sixth grade Earth science teacher at Berry Middle School, watches as Justin Jung pulls out a sample of different layers from a bowl as the class learns about core samples and geologic columns of the Earth.
Elementary Teacher of the Year
Adams said many teachers know about Craig’s creative talent because her students continue to remember and share the songs Craig created and the concepts they cover for years to come.
“Success of her unique and engaging teaching style can be seen in her students’ continuous high level of achievement and growth each year,” Adams wrote. “In addition to academic growth, Mrs. Craig pushes her students to grow as people. She truly looks at each student as an individual and fosters an environment that allows them to believe in themselves and their potential as a student and person. Students never forget a year with Mrs. Craig.”
Geri Evans, Hoover’s 2021-22 Elementary Teacher of the Year, also from Bluff Park, said in a recommendation letter that Craig is a master teacher who has a comprehensive knowledge of curriculum and ability to engage students.
“She combines subjects seamlessly into meaningful units of study that require in-depth thinking and hands-on learning,” Evans wrote.
Craig, 42, is in her sixth year of teaching at Bluff Park Elementary and 19th year of teaching overall. She previously taught second grade for 13 years at Chelsea Park Elementary School in the Shelby County school system.
At Bluff Park, she has been the lead teacher for her grade level for six years and served as a mentor to new teachers the past three years. She also has been responsible for creating and coordinating science and social studies schoolwide presentations, such as a living wax museum and a market day where children created a product and then tried to “sell” it to help understand supply and demand concepts.
“Maghan Craig is what I like to call a quiet leader,” Bluff Park Elementary Principal Ami Weems said. “She’s one of those that even though she’s quiet, every time she speaks, someone listens. She’s also one of those that she does all things for the right reasons. She is never seeking the limelight, but she is definitely someone that deserves to be in it, and we’re incredibly proud of her.”
Craig does a great job of not only getting to know her students but also their parents, and she is well respected in the community, Weems said.
“She is definitely a teacher that never, ever stops learning,” Weems said. “She’s been in education for 19 years, and she is always seeking out an opportunity to grow.”
Craig said she is honored and shocked to be named Elementary Teacher of the Year. “I really wasn’t expecting it,” she said.
She got into teaching because she loved how some of the teachers in her formative years found ways to make learning fun. When she finished high school, she helped teach a Sunday school class at her church, and she enjoyed finding fun and creative ways to teach the lessons, she said.
Those things motivated her to pursue education as a career, and it became a passion for her, she said.
“I try to find ways to bring studying to life and have really hands-on, realistic learning experiences for the students,” she said.
While teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging, it also led her and other teachers to use technology in new ways that they continue to incorporate into their lesson plans, Craig said.
Also, while some teachers have gotten burned out in recent years, Craig said continuing to find new, fun ways to teach keeps her motivated. Also, getting a new group of students each year keeps it fresh and exciting because each group of students has different needs and challenges, she said. “It looks different every single year.”
She enjoys teaching first grade because most first graders love coming to school and love their teacher, she said. “It’s still all new at this age.”
Secondary Teacher of the Year
Pughsley is in his sixth year at Berry Middle and 16th year of teaching overall. He previously taught 10 years as a sixth-grade science teacher at Calera Middle School in the Shelby County school system.
He was named Calera Middle School’s Teacher of the Year in 2008 and 2014, the Shelby County Middle School Teacher of the Year in 2014 and was his school district’s nominee for the Jacksonville State University Teacher Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Alabama Science Teacher Association Middle School Teacher of the Year for 2018.
Pughsley won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching in 2018 and was a teacher ambassador for the Alabama Educator Space Camp in 2017. In 2022, he led Berry students to a state championship in Tests in Engineering Aptitude Mathematics and Science, qualifying them to go to nationals in Dallas.
He is the head of the science department at his school, plans professional development for his fellow science teachers and mentors and teaches other teachers through the A Plus College Ready program.
Melissa Hadder, the principal at Berry, when asked how she would describe Pughsley, said it’s hard to narrow it down to one thing because he is the complete package as a teacher.
“Mr. Pughsley is an experienced teacher who works hard to help the students master the content,” Hadder said. “He is a phenomenal teacher and represents Berry very well.”
Pughsley is very skilled in terms of pedagogy, grounded in the content and good at incorporating literacy into the science curriculum, she said. He’s good at relating to middle school students, engaging with them and getting them to ask questions about the content, she said.
Chris Robbins, the chief academic officer for Hoover City Schools, was the principal at Berry when Pughsley was hired and said in a recommendation letter that he knew he had to hire Pughsley the second he began interviewing him.
“His love and concern for children, his ability to relate to adolescents and his thirst for professional growth shined through,” Robbins wrote. “With years of science teaching experience, an unbelievable expanse of expertise and certifications and a heart of gold, the outcome of the interview was a no-brainer.”
Robbins said that when he walked into Pughsley’s classroom, he always noticed that Pughsley’s students were engaged in collaborative discussions with other students in their groups, thinking critically about science standards and working to provide or discover evidence to support or disprove a scientific hypothesis.
Pughsley knows the science standards so well that he looks for and takes advantage of cross-curricular connections with other teachers in his interdisciplinary team, Robbins said. Yet he is continually seeking out opportunities to grow in his knowledge of the content and standards, Robbins said.
Also, Pughsley possesses many of the personal and social traits necessary to build positive relationships with all his stakeholders, Robbins said.
“Parents, students and co-workers enjoy his consistent and fair approach to working with students,” Robbins wrote. “Kevin has a wonderful sense of humor, which is foundational for working successfully with middle school students.”
Pughsley said he feels blessed and humbled that the teachers at his school chose him to be their Teacher of the Year and that the leaders of the school district see him as a teacher who is making a difference in students’ lives.
“Growing up, I was easily distracted,” he said. “I would get in trouble. Academically, I wasn’t the best either, and I share that with my students. I let them know my pathway that got to here.”
When he was in high school, he had two teachers who showed him that education could be fun, energetic, exciting and engaging for students and that teaching can be tailored to meet the individual needs of learners, he said.
Those teachers made an impact on his life and helped motivate him to choose education as a profession, he said.
Now, he wants to help his students realize that, regardless of any past struggles, they can be successful in school and achieve their dreams, he said.
The last two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic have been very tough for teachers, and he wants to help his fellow teachers realize that they can push through the tough times and find that passion that they originally had, he said.
