Part of an ongoing series featuring the teachers nominated for Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce’s Teacher of the Year honors.

After spending the first 14 years of her career teaching at the elementary level, Kelda Bailess has found her home at River City Early College.

Bailess joined the staff at River City before the school’s inaugural year last year and now teaches ninth and 10th grade biology and chemistry. Before joining the staff at River City, Bailess had spent the previous seven years working at Bowmar Elementary teaching fourth, fifth and sixth grades as well as music.

“It was a huge change for me,” Bailess said. “I was a little bit fearful of teenagers, but what I have found is I need those teenagers just as much as they need me. They are so supportive. They are like my cheerleaders.

“You have bad days just like any profession, but the past year and a half at River City Early College has been indescribable.”

Bailess is now in the middle of her second year at River City and is her school’s nominee for the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce’s Secondary Teacher of the Year.

Bailess was also recently chosen as the teacher of the year for the Vicksburg Warren School District, an honor separate from the one given by the chamber.

“That was just confirmation that I am in the right place at the right time and I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing,” Bailess said of winning VWSD teacher of the year. “I was completely in shock and my heart was happy. I owe it to those students because those students have brought out the best in me.”

Bailess graduated from Belhaven University with a bachelors in elementary education in 2002. She is currently pursuing her masters in education from William Carey University and is scheduled to graduate in May.

She originally entered college with plans to major in nursing before making the decision to pursue education.

“My parents almost had a heart attack,” Bailess said. “I felt something calling me to education, though I didn’t know for sure why. I had wonderful teachers and so I always wanted to be like them.”

Her first year as a high school teacher proved to be successful, as 100 percent of her freshman biology students passed the state exam last year. She said the key to having success in the classroom is building relationships with students, and at River City, they have “established a family environment.”

“We promote their creativity,” Bailess said. “We want to see them excel and we teach them leadership skills. We as a faculty work really hard to make it a student-centered learning environment.

“We are advocates on building relationships. They need to know without a doubt that we love them and we support them, are cheering for them and we are going to have their back.”

The Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce will choose one elementary and one secondary teacher of the year at the chamber luncheon Feb. 21. The winner of each award will receive $1,000 from Ameristar Casino and the runner-up for each award will receive $500 from Mutual Credit Union.

“It would mean the world to me,” Bailess said of her reaction if she won the award. “My daughter and I are going to Haiti and we are going down there to provide professional development to teachers that don’t normally get any kind of that training. I would use that money 100 percent for that. It would mean that I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I would be ecstatic.”