For the month of March, we would like to introduce Ms. Haley Watson, who is new to Bainbridge High School this year. Ms. Watson currently teaches Algebra 1 and Algebra 1 Support at BHS. Watson was born in Dublin, Georgia, and is the oldest of 4 siblings and 2 step-siblings. She is currently engaged and will marry her fiancé on April 1. She has no children of her own at the moment, but she sees her students as her children.

Watson stated, “Growing up, school was my home away from home. I enjoyed learning and making good grades, and I wanted to become a positive influence for students.” Watson attended West Laurens High School in Dexter, Georgia. After graduating, she began working toward this goal by attending a small private Baptist college called Brewton-Parker College. She has since been taking online classes at Georgia Southern University and Valdosta State University to continue her education. So far she has earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Middle Grades Education, a Master’s in Secondary Mathematics Education, and is currently working on an Education Specialist degree in Instructional Technology.

Ms. Watson came to Bainbridge and Bainbridge High School to be closer to her fiancé, who is a coach and teacher in Early County. At Bainbridge High School, she runs her class by beginning with a warm-up, a lesson, and then giving practices and reviews. She explained that “I always try to highlight or reward those students who go above and beyond!” Ms. Watson believes that her strength in teaching is her adaptability, while her weakness is the amount of extra time she spends very late at school planning instead of resting. Ms. Watson told us that her favorite thing about her career is: “building relationships with my students and watching them grow and flourish from young ninth-graders all the way to graduation and beyond!” 

In five years, Ms. Watson explained that she plans on “staying in education but possibly shifting more toward instructional technology or some other aspect of high school.” We hope Ms. Watson has enjoyed her first year at BHS and will continue to stay with us for many years to come!