LONOKE — Lonoke Middle School sixth-grade math teacher Gale Boyd is appreciative of the fact that he has made a difference during his 28 years teaching at Lonoke.
Boyd, 57, was recently honored as the Lonoke Area Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year. In addition, the 2018-19 Lonoke Public Schools yearbook was dedicated to him.
“Some days, you go home, and I think I’m not appreciated,” he said. “But you get those honors, and you say, ‘Maybe I reached more people than I thought I had.’”
Boyd has taught sixth grade at Lonoke since the 1991-92 school year. At that time, sixth grade was part of the elementary school before moving to the middle school as part of restructuring in the district in the mid-1990s.
While talking about the yearbook, Boyd was presented the book by Caroline Horton and Nicole Idrogo.
“That was really big to me,” Boyd said. “They usually give it to a high school teacher. Caroline and Nicole said they were told to pick a teacher who meant a lot to them through the years. They decided to pick me. They wanted to show that I really helped them a lot.”
Boyd said he was hard on Idrogo when he taught her in sixth grade.
“Nicole is one that when I had her, I fussed at her,” he said. “I thought she had potential. She said she hated me. When she got to high school, it finally clicked for her. ‘You cared about me. My grades started getting better. I started hanging around other people.’”
For the chamber honor, Boyd was nominated by the sixth-grade teachers, including Kaleigh Huff, Leanne Lynn, Miekka Maile, Lauryn Mobley and Courtney Swiney.
“It really helps to know that I’ve got a good team who really thinks a lot of me,” Boyd said. “They think I do more than what I do. It makes it easier for me to come to work every day because I have a good group of people I’m working with, not only the sixth-grade team, but the whole building.”
Boyd is a 1979 graduate of Cabot High School. He attended the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, graduating with a business degree in 1983. He was also double-majoring in education but lacked a few hours of that degree.
For several years, he worked in retail management, but when the company he was working for closed its store in Arkansas, Boyd decided to get into education.
“They offered me a job in South Dakota,” he said. “I decided to go back to school. I only had a few hours left to get certified to teach. I started teaching in 1989.”
Boyd started his teaching career at Lee County Schools in Marianna.
“I didn’t mind Marianna,” Boyd said. “I remember my principal came in and put some test results on my desk and said 50 percent of my students passed. I said, ‘I’m sorry.’ She said the school average was 22 percent. She was happy. She even asked me to lead the math team. I’m a first-year teacher, and I said no.”
He said he didn’t seem to have problems that other teachers in the Lee County District might have had.
“They knew I cared about kids,” Boyd said. “People there said I was the first teacher to walk into the projects and go up to students’ homes and knock on their doors. The administration said I earned a lot of their trust because I was willing to come to them, not ask them to come to me.”
However, Boyd’s wife, Pamela, wanted to get closer to central Arkansas.
Boyd’s twin brother, Dale, was in his first year of teaching eighth-grade math at Lonoke. He previously taught at Murfreesboro before coming to Lonoke. Gale Boyd said he received a call from then Lonoke superintendent, Charles Knox, saying he had an opening for sixth-grade math.
“Mr. Knox was so impressed with my brother,” Boyd said. “I didn’t even apply at Lonoke. He said, ‘Would you be interested in coming for an interview? If you are as good as Dale, you’ve got the job.’”
The rest is history.
“I like the size of the school,” Boyd said, referring to why he’s stayed at Lonoke for so long. “I can actually know the kids. …
“That’s why I’ve stayed here. Even though I don’t teach them all, I know most of the kids in this school building. I just like the size, the small town.”
Boyd said he likes working so closely with the other sixth-grade teachers.
“I love the fact that you have just one team. … There’s not three teams of sixth-grade teachers like at bigger schools,” he said. “I can communicate with all the sixth-grade teachers.”
Boyd said he also enjoys working with Principal Jeannie Holt and Assistant Principal Rosalynd Kelleybrew.
“They are another reason why I didn’t want to leave Lonoke,” he said. “They are very good to me and this school.”
Holt said Boyd is deserving of the Educator of the Year honor.
“As a 30-year educator, Mr. Boyd epitomizes every aspect of a professional educator,” Holt said. “He strives each and every day to meet the academic, as well as emotional needs, of every child. He never gives up on anyone and never gives in to mediocrity. He helps build students’ confidence in math and provides various paths for understanding.
“As a dedicated team member of our staff, Mr. Boyd exceeds expectations. He serves in any capacity and consistently offers assistance and support as needs arise. It is obvious that Mr. Boyd loves his chosen career, and we have all been blessed by his presence at Lonoke Middle School.”
Boyd said he has a few things he would like to have done differently in his career.
“I wish I could have gotten into administration,” he said. “I don’t know if I would have been good at it. I would like to have tried. Also, I wish I had more time to get better at technology. That is my weak point. I’ve got enough knowledge to get by. My granddaughter would probably outdo me in technology.”
Boyd said he’s not ready to retire yet, but he wishes he could have done so with his brother Dale, who retired after 29 years in education in 2012. Gale Boyd said his brother is in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
“I thought it would have been a good way to retire,” Gale Boyd said. “He had to retire in 2012. That was too early for me. He had 29 years. I had only 23. I regret he is in such a shape now. I would have loved it if he had been at the chamber banquet when I got my award.”
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.