ROSEBORO — As students worked in groups, Sabrina Webb walked around the classroom and helped them with projects related to the childhood of President Abraham Lincoln.
The lessons from the book “The Backwoods Boy…” is just one of many moments during the year when Webb captures the attention of sixth-graders at Roseboro-Salemburg Middle School (RSMS). For Webb, establishing relationships are also important.
“I think the key thing is that relationship,” she said. “You have to get to know your students and you have to open up and let them get to know you as a person, not just their teacher. I think if you do that, it’ll go a long way with your students.”
Webb’s dedication to the classroom is just one of the reasons she became the 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year for Sampson County Schools (SCS). The announcement was recently made at a banquet for the district. At the moment, Webb was filled with a lot of emotions and was overjoyed.
“I was so happy about it because there’s so many awesome teachers in Sampson County,” Webb said. “I was very humbled and excited.”
Dr. Eric Bracy, superintendent of Sampson County Schools, said Webb is always motivating students to improve.
“If Mrs. Webb sees a need, she is not afraid to step in and help out,” Bracy said. “She exhibits a lot of energy and enthusiasm to her students. Her positive attitude has had a positive impact on Roseboro-Salemburg Middle School. She deeply cares about all of her students.
“Mrs. Webb pushes her students each day to be the best they can be,” Bracy said.
The sixth-grade language arts and social studies teacher is now in her second year at RSMS.
“That’s why I was so elated about it,” Webb said about being fairly new to RSMS and SCS. “My cohorts nominated me and they’ve been very supportive. I’ve been on the moon ever since.”
She’s now ready to compete for the regional competition.
“I’m excited about that,” she said.
With close to 20 years of experience, the Mississippi native’s journey toward education began many years ago with a different career in mind.
“I didn’t really want to be a teacher, to be honest,” Webb said. “I wanted to be a singer, but that didn’t work out so well for me.”
After working at a daycare center back home, Webb discovered her true passion.
“I found out that I had a gift when it came to the kids and the babies,” she said. “I was so good when it came to nurturing and caring for them. That’s when I decided that this is what I want to do. I want to become a teacher. I love it. It’s one of the most rewarding jobs out here.”
Webb grew up in Ruleville, Miss., a rural community with a little over 3,000 people. After graduating from high school, Webb earned a bachelor’s in social science from Delta State University, before obtaining a master’s in elementary education from Mississippi Valley State University.
Her first teaching role was as a special education teacher in Drew, Miss. During the next semester, she became the librarian. From there, she went on to teach reading and social studies for sixth-graders. Next, she came to Nashville, Tenn., and decided to take on a bigger challenge by teaching kindergarten through fifth-grade students at the McCann Alternative Learning Center.
“That was very challenging dealing with all of the students who were socially and emotionally disturbed or just being in foster care and being moved around from different homes,” she said. “That was one of the toughest jobs that I took on because it was new to me. I had always taught at regular schools.”
After the center moved with a new name, Webb continued to teach in the Nashville area at Madison Middle School as a eighth-grade math and science teacher. She was also an instructional coach for the school’s Response To Intervention program, helping students who were at-risk of failing.
Webb moved Stedman with her husband, Martin Webb, a soldier stationed at Fort Bragg. Webb taught at Pauline Jones Alternative Middle School for one semester and became a stay-at-home mom for a couple of years after giving birth to their son, Martin Webb Jr. She later applied to the job at Roseboro-Salemburg Middle School.
“There are a lot of challenges being a teacher,” Webb said. “But what you have to do is build a rapport with your students and, once you build that rapport with your students and show them that you care and you have their best interest at heart, there isn’t anything that they wouldn’t strive to do, just because they know that you care.
“You have to build that relationship with them first and once you build that relationship with them, you will know their weaknesses, their strengths, their likes and their dislikes,” she said.
Shajuana Sellers, RSMS principal, said Webb is a dynamic educator who forms great relationships with her fellow teachers, students and everyone in the building.
“She’s always with a smiling face, but she’s also providing that sternness that they need in the classroom with rigor and curriculum by making sure that they’re covering the standards, while having fun at the same time,” Sellers said. “She takes her kids and they do a lot of out-of-the-box things.”
Sellers also said Webb is a joy to have.
“I’m just delighted for her to be recognized for what she does on an everyday basis.”
