Throughout her time as a student at Russellville High School, Desha Lewis never had a person of color as a teacher.
“As a student, I didn’t have any African-American teachers, and I knew they were needed in the schools,” Lewis said. “I did well in school because I had parents who were supportive, and you don’t necessarily see that on a regular basis.
“Teachers made a difference in my life, and that’s why I chose business as my area of study.”
Lewis, who has been a teacher at Russellville for six years, was recently named the district’s Teacher of the Year. She teaches survey of business and social media and communications. Russellville School District administrators surprised Lewis at her home on May 15 with the award.
“I think it is a great honor,” she said. “I think it shows that my peers — the other staff members and teachers and principal — appreciate the fact that we can work together, and they know I enjoy my job and are putting my best foot forward for the students.”
Russellville High School Principal Al Harpenau said Lewis is one of those teachers who goes above and beyond, not only for her students, but Russellville High School.
“She helps students make connections, learn new skills and create meaningful relationships; prepares students for the future; and so much more,” Harpenau said. “She features her students on her professional social-media page that includes them working in the classroom and sharing their accomplishments.
“She is a positive role model for our students and colleagues that she works with.”
Lewis is the Russellville High School Improvement Plan co-chair, the Parental Involvement coordinator, the prom coordinator, the Arch Ford Education Service Cooperative presenter, the Future Business Leader of America adviser and the Black History Club adviser. Harpenau said Lewis is an excellent choice for the RSD Teacher of the Year Award.
“A lot of studies show that students learn better from people who look like them,” Lewis said. “And it goes beyond high school, seeing somebody doing well in a professional field.
“I think it is important that students see people of color in different roles and being successful.”
Lewis is originally from Russellville, graduating from high school in 2006 and earning a bachelor’s degree in business education in 2010. Prior to teaching at Russellville, Lewis taught for the Pottsville School District for three years.
“I want to serve as a role model and help give my students real-world skills and insight for what their future may hold,” she said. “Paula Jones (a former teacher at Russellville) and her personality, and how she taught, is one of the reasons I chose to become a business teacher.”
Bri Riley, a teacher at Russellville Junior High School, interned under Lewis while in college.
“The way Lewis ran her classroom,” Riley said, “she is the one who led, directed me and improved the way I ran my classroom.
“She is a champion for people of color and students of color and making sure they are represented. She really makes sure she is a champion for them and other
students who may have been given up on. She is extremely welcoming, and that is something I have tried to bring into my classroom. I saw the impact she had made. She is one of the best teachers I have ever seen.”
Riley said students of color tend to lean on Lewis, even if they don’t have her in class.
“It is kind of amazing to sit back and watch how loving and accepting she is, whether you are in her class or not,” Riley said. “She is so amazing. She has definitely lived up to being that role model.”
Lewis said she does not have a lot of African-American students in her classroom. She said most of the time, she spends time with them outside of class.
“We have a Black History Club, which is open to all students, and we have a program during the month of February, which recognizes black history and things along those lines,” Lewis said. “The number of attendees at the club varies. Sometimes we only have two, and sometimes it is 30.”
Jennifer Curry, president for the Arkansas Business Education Association, has known Lewis for 10 years and said she is an outstanding teacher.
“Her biggest asset is how she meets the kids where they are, by using social media as an opportunity,” Curry said. “She has an Instagram page called Lessons With Lewis, and it is an outstanding resource for her students and other business teachers in the state of Arkansas.
“She goes above and beyond the classroom to meet her students where they are and make [the subject] more relatable to students and bring the content to them. I think she has evolved from regular classroom techniques to modernizing her classroom to the 21st century.”
Curry said that when Lewis speaks at the ABA Conferences, her sessions are always full. Other educators want to hear what she is doing in her classroom because it is more cutting-edge than the traditional classroom.
“She creates opportunities for her students that are beyond traditional techniques and textbooks,” Curry said.
Lewis said that during the current COVID-19 pandemic, she is sending messages to her students to let them know she is thinking about them.
“I’m trying to get information to them by posting on my Instagram or TikTok,” Lewis said. “Not being able to be in the classroom has been tough, but I always want them to know I am thinking about them, and they can contact me if there is something they need.”
She said the fact that teachers were able to quickly adapt to the pandemic shows how flexible teachers are.
“We really care about the children and, more importantly, their well-being,” she said. “We are worried and want to make sure they have food or they are being taken care of.
“Teachers have a really good heart, and we are really flexible as well.”
Lewis lives in Russellville with her husband, Kevin, and 4-year-old son, Easton.
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.