For the month of October, Gray Elementary School’s Faculty Spotlight was Fourth-Grade Teacher Katie Sneed, nominated by fellow Fourth-Grade Teacher Robin Waters.
“Katie is someone who always lifts up those around her. She works hard and is a great mother. She is a friend to everyone she meets, and she listens when you talk to her. She genuinely cares for others,” Waters said.
Sneed is married to her husband, Jon. They have been together for 19 years and have two children: a son named Landon, and a daughter named Madison. Landon is a 15-year-old 10th-grade student, and Madison is a 12-year-old seventh-grade student.
When Sneed is not at school, she loves to read, watch baseball and football, and attend her children’s extracurricular activities. When she was younger, she participated in gymnastics, so she now enjoys that sport, too!
The teacher has instructed elementary students for 19 years, all of which have been at Gray Elementary. While completing her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, her student teaching placement was at Gray Elementary School.
“I immediately fell in love with Gray Elementary. I loved the community here and knew this is where I wanted to be,” Sneed said.
After graduating college, Sneed accepted a position at Gray Elementary teaching second grade, where she was for eleven years. Then, she taught third grade for four years. Eventually, Sneed moved up to teaching fourth grade and has been there since.
Since beginning teaching, Sneed has earned her master’s degree from Walden University in reading and literacy and her specialist degree from Georgia College and State University in teacher leadership.
Sneed comes from a legacy of teachers, including her grandmother, who taught for thirty-five years, and her mother and father, who retired from education.
“To this day, people on Facebook will be in groups and ask, ‘Oh my goodness, does anyone remember Ms. Rainwater from first grade?’ Ms. Rainwater was my Nana. It is meaningful to me to see the impact she made in her students’ lives, who are now probably sixty to seventy years old remembering their firstgrade teacher,” the teacher said.
Sneed’s family inspired her to become the teacher she is today.
“I grew up watching the impact my family made on many lives. To this day, people talk about how they were their favorite teachers. I wanted to do something meaningful, too. I never really wanted to do anything other than teach,” she said.
In Sneed’s fourth-grade class, students have been learning about ecosystems in science, the American Revolution in social studies, and completing their place value unit in math. Sneed’s students continually work on reading standards and practice writing personal narratives in English. She also loves singing, dancing, and having fun with her class.
Sneed’s favorite tradition with her students is Lunch Buddies, a system she implemented in her classroom a few years ago. Sneed will randomly draw a student’s name to enjoy a lunchtime picnic with her along with two of the student’s friends, where they can talk, laugh, and listen to music.
“With Lunch Buddies, it does not matter where students are academically. It is not something students earn for behaving well. Every student gets a chance. It has meant a lot to the kids since it is a small group setting where students feel free to open up. We get to know each other better,” Sneed said. “Once I build a rapport with my students, they work harder. Once I build trust and let them know I have their best interest, they are more willing to accept feedback because they know it comes from a place of love.”
Sneed believes relationship building is just as crucial as academic growth. That is why she goes above and beyond to connect with her students.
“I do not remember much about elementary school, but I remember how the teachers made me feel. I want to be remembered for building student’s confidence academically and emotionally,” she added.
