More than students were honored at Brooks County High School’s Honors Night. Principal Chris Chastain announced that Ms. Anya S. Cain was Brooks County High School’s Teacher of the Year. A math teacher for grades 9-12, Cain has been teaching in Brooks County for eight years. Ms. Cain holds a B.S.Ed in Secondary Mathematics as well as a M.S. and Ed. S. in Curriculum and Instruction. Mr. Chastain stated, “Ms. Cain is an integral part of the BCHS family and serves the faculty and students in several key roles. Ms. Cain's first priority and most important role is in the classroom where she teaches all of our accelerated/honors math classes. She serves as math department head, leadership team member, PBIS team chair, prom committee chair, and yearbook coordinator. She is a very confident and talented teacher who continues to push all of her students to achieve at their highest level. Ms. Cain loves her students, and it is evident each day by how she holds them accountable in and out of her classroom. We value her leadership and her commitment to our students, and we know she will represent us well as Brooks County High School's 2019 - 2020 Teacher of the Year.”
“My reason for becoming a teacher is simple. It is something I was called to do. I believe teaching is an elite profession and in my opinion, the best and most honorable profession one can join.” stated Cain. As a young child, Cain would often get in trouble for using chalk on the closet door while teaching her cousins, siblings, and stuffed animals math. Her family influenced her decision to join the teaching profession. Several teachers from within her family helped prepare her for the day that she would join the teaching profession. Her grandparents instilled in their children and grandchildren core values which include being the best person one can be no matter what profession he or she entered. Ms. Cain’s most rewarding aspect of teaching is seeing the academic, social, and emotional growth of each student. The feeling she gets when she sees her students learn a new concept or make a connection to math is indescribable. Cain said, “When I see how much my students genuinely care about a classmate’s success, I know something has been done right in my class.”
The daughter of Patricia Cain and the late James Britton, Cain enjoys reading and writing in her spare time. She enjoys watching soap operas, working out, and spending time with her family and friends. She strives to appreciate the small things in life. Ms. Cain will represent Brooks County High School in the district competition for Brooks County Schools Teacher of the Year. The winner of the district competition will represent Brooks County Schools in the Georgia Teacher of the Year competition. The Teacher of the Year for Brooks County Schools will be announced at the annual Teacher of the Year banquet in the fall.