This article is part of a series by The Vicksburg Post, in partnership with the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce, featuring each of the nominees for teacher of the year honors.

ShaJuan Wilson, a sixth-grade English language arts teacher for Warrenton Elementary, said she helps her students track their success. 

“By tracking their progress, students are able to determine if they are on track with meeting their goals to take the necessary steps needed in order to do so,” Wilson said.

Wilson is a finalist in the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce’s Educator of the Year award. The chamber will select and announce one elementary and one secondary teacher of the year at the chamber luncheon, which has been rescheduled to Mar. 1. 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. 

In 2003, Wilson started as a teacher assistant for Warrenton Elementary. Starting in 2008, she became a 6th grade English language arts and math teacher at Warrenton Elementary. Wilson received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Alcorn State University in 2006. She earned a master’s of art and teaching from Alcorn in 2010. At William Carey University, Wilson earned a specialist degree in educational leadership in 2021. 

In her Educator of the Year application, Wilson said she created a system that helps her students set some goals for each nine-week term called W.I.G.’s, also known as Wildly Important Goals. Students use a binder to track their daily goals and evaluate their progress. 

Wilson said that getting a student to be actively involved in the learning process establishes that student’s achievement. It gives students a visual of what steps are needed to succeed for the various reading and vocabulary lessons during the school year, as expressed in her Educator of the Year application.