Dalton Public Schools teacher of the year Aubrey Poppel speaks at City Hall on Tuesday.

DALTON, Ga. — Watching science teacher Aubrey Poppel work with students is “just awesome,” says Morris Innovative High School Principal Pat Hunt.

“She always has activities the kids are engaged in,” Hunt said. “When you walk into one of her classes, everyone is involved. She’s constantly finding ways to bring in technology. She teaches a class in the afternoons, on her own time. That’s why I call her Awesome Aubrey.”

Poppel, who had already been recognized as Morris Innovative’s teacher of the year, was named the Dalton Public Schools teacher of the year Tuesday night at City Hall.

Poppel says she didn’t originally intend to become a teacher.

“My undergraduate degree was in biology, and I wanted to do something in the health care field, physical therapy,” she said. “In all of my jobs since I graduated from college, the part that stood out was watching people learn something new. That led me to go into education.”

Poppel has taught science at Morris Innovative for the past four years.

“I teach all sciences. We are on a semester schedule, so this semester I’m teaching biology and earth systems, and next semester I’ll have a whole new job,” she said.

Morris Innovative, according to its website, provides a “nontraditional, small-school setting with student-specific learning opportunities and a focus on Project-Based Learning.”

Poppel calls it a “hidden gem.”

“We teach traditional content in a very nontraditional way,” she said. “Many of our students need something a little different, something that is not a traditional classroom. Morris provides them smaller class sizes and a way to learn that is catered to their own learning style.”

Poppel says that one of her greatest rewards is watching students who hated coming to school grow into students who want to come to school every day.

In an effort to become a better teacher, Poppel has earned certification as a teacher of English for speakers of other languages and was part of the first group of Dalton Public Schools teachers to take part in a program to learn conversational Spanish. She has also begun the process to become certified as a gifted education teacher.

All of Dalton’s teachers of the year were honored Tuesday, including Pam Eichberg (Westwood School), Nathan Greven (Dalton High School), Brittany Hendon (Brookwood School), Amber Lebron (Park Creek School), Edgar Nava (City Park School), Edith Nava (Blue Ridge School), Jamie Lou Phillips (Roan School) and Eric Smith (Dalton Middle School).

“You exemplify all that we aspire to,” said Board of Education Chairman Rick Fromm to the group.

Former superintendent Jim Hawkins spoke to the group after the ceremony.

“You are my final group of teachers of the year,” he said. “I am so proud of all of you.”

Interim Superintendent Don Amonett said that if there is one trait that unites all nine teachers of the year it is their ability to develop relationships with their students.

“They are solid in their content. They have to be,” he said. “But they go beyond that. They understand their students and find activities that teach the content and that engage their students.”

Poppel said even the best teachers can’t thrive without a solid support system, and she thanked her colleagues at Morris Innovative, the school administration and the members of the school board.

“Dalton has the best reputation, the best teachers, the best administration,” she said. “There was no doubt that when I received the offer (to teach at Morris Innovative) that this is where I was going to be.”