‘Don’t Stop. Keep Going’: Georgia Teacher Finds New Purpose in Special Education Classroom
| by Hannah Sparling
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By the time she decided to become a teacher, Darla Evans-Hall was practically a veteran with Clayton County Public Schools in Georgia.
She’d spent a decade working for the district, first in the kitchen, then as a custodian, then as a paraprofessional. A few months into the paraprofessional job, it was clear Evans-Hall was a natural. One of the teachers asked if she had her bachelor’s degree, and Evans-Hall confirmed she did.
“She was like, ‘Do you want to be a teacher?’ And I said, ‘OK, why not?’”
A Natural Fit
There are a few reasons teaching came naturally to Evans-Hall. First, she’s been around education her entire life. Her grandmother was a teacher, and her parents were both heavy hitters in education and the Civil Rights Movement. Her mom was on the board of education for 15 years.
Second, Evans-Hall was a paraprofessional in a special-education classroom, and two of her own five children have special needs.
“I know all about it,” she said. “Don’t need to buy a book. Don’t need to watch a movie — I live it.”
Evans-Hall enrolled in Moreland University’s TEACH-NOW Teacher Preparation Certificate Program to earn her Georgia teaching certification. Her instructors have been “awesome, awesome, awesome,” she said, and more than willing to work with her when she needed flexibility. In particular, she’s learned a lot about classroom management, patience, and technology through TEACH-NOW.
“Virtual learning is really cool,” she said. “At first, I thought it wasn’t going to work for me, but it’s worked just fine. I’m so glad I was able to attend Moreland.”
Clayton County Public Schools has a partnership with Moreland that included an initial cohort of 36 special-education teachers. Evans-Hall is part of that cohort, which means her TEACH-NOW tuition was covered by the district. Once she graduates in May, her plan is to go on to earn her M.Ed. through Moreland as well.
‘Something is Working’
Evans-Hall teaches 3- and 4-year-olds, all with special needs. Many of her students are non-verbal, so they do a lot with visual aids, flash cards, and gestures. They work on potty training, motor skills like using scissors and tracing with pencils, and learning their shapes, colors, and days of the week.
“I can see the change in the children,” Evans-Hall said. “When I hear them talk, I start crying, because it makes me feel good that they’re listening. Something is working.”
Georgia is projecting an average of 1,350 open jobs for special education teachers every year from now through 2032, with the highest need at the kindergarten/elementary level. Evans-Hall can see that need firsthand, and she’s proud to be part of the solution.
“These children are exceptional,” she said. “They are so eager, so bright. Sometimes, I just sit back in my desk and watch them and say, ‘Wow, you know, I may not have taught them everything, but I’ve taught them a lot within these past two years.’”
‘Don’t Stop. Keep Going’
As excited as she was to move into teaching, Evans-Hall was equally terrified of going back to school for her Educator Preparation Program. She was afraid she was too old and too out-of-practice when it came to taking classes and studying for tests. She just celebrated her 58th birthday, and “it’s a lot at my age,” she said, “doing testing, being in school, and working full-time.”
She hopes someone will hear her story and know that, if she could go back and earn her teaching certificate, they can, too.
“I’m very proud of myself for hanging in there,” she said. “I’m glad I’m getting the opportunity to do this, because I want people my age to know that it doesn’t matter about your age. I want them to know that they can do it, too.”
If she ever starts to doubt herself, Evans-Hall thinks back to her last visit with her mother before she died. Evans-Hall had gone back to school to earn her bachelor’s degree but because of COVID lockdowns hadn’t been able to visit her mother in-person for a while. When she finally got the chance, she held up her degrees, an associate’s and a bachelor’s, for her mother to see.
“Her last words to me were, ‘Don’t stop. Keep going.’”
That’s exactly what Evans-Hall is doing.
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