CENTRAL — Southern Wesleyan University education graduate Mary Cate Garrett was recently named teacher of the year at R.C. Edwards Middle School.

Garrett, who is the school’s athletics director, teaches sixth- to eighth-grade physical education and health. She is also an assistant softball coach at nearby Daniel High School.

Garrett’s mother was a teacher, so her interest in teaching began at a young age. She recalls teachers who inspired her and impacted her life, including Mary Elizabeth Freeman, a second-grade teacher who cared about her students as she would her own children.

Although the classes she teaches at R.C. Edwards tend to be large, Garrett tries to learn something about each of her students and feels that it’s important to keep the lines of

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