Macon Magazine

Levita Carter A Wiz of a teacher LEVITA CARTER, a music educator for over 31 years, won the runner-up for the 2023 Bibb County Teacher of the Year Award. She was selected, in part, for her dedication to teaching and her ability to rally the students and community together. Carter has taught music at various school levels, but the past four years, she has been at Bernd Elementary. Her journey teaching music began when she was graduating high school and saw recruiting material from Bibb County School District. She agreed to return to her hometown after college and teach, and she says when she walked back into a Bibb County classroom for the first time, she knew it was the right choice. Since day one, her job has been "a blessing" in her life. Carter has directed multiple school and community productions, including a highly successful showing of "The Wiz" at The Douglass Theatre. Initially, only elementary students had roles, but soon the majority of faculty and staff volunteered to participate. Carter simply sent one email asking for help, and she received a "positive, wonderful, and overwhelming response." Exceeding Carter's expectations, she was overjoyed at their shared enthusiasm for the show. In creating musical theater productions, Carter said that organization is critical – it's a complex task. She hires live musicians, recruits willing participants, schedules rehearsals, assigns roles to students and faculty, creates props and costumes, delegates ticket sales, and finds backstage work. But she believes teamwork is the real key to a successful show. She emphasizes to her students that each ensemble member is important: "We're going to work together as a team, and no one's part is better or bigger." Carter knows many children won't pursue music further, but she believes valuable life lessons are embedded in a music curriculum, promoting values like kindness, teamwork, and passion. She says the arts benefit children's well-being and development in ways that are often intangible. As Carter put it, "people should understand that the arts can play a larger part in a child's life than we actually realize." As Lena Horne, one time Maconite who played Glinda the Good in the movie version of "The Wiz," once said, "Home is a place we all must find, child… Home is knowing. Knowing your mind, knowing your heart, knowing your courage." In sharing culture through bonding experiences like "The Wiz," teachers like Levita Carter move lessons out of the textbook and onto the stage. The more they feel empowered while they're growing up in Bibb County, the more it will feel like home. And when young graduates know there's no place like home, they just might come back, like young Carter once did, to work tirelessly and passionately for decades to make a difference here. As community members, we should also strive to lift up and acknowledge these teachers for their invaluable work. — NORA JORGENSEN AND MACON MAGAZINE STAFF FROM LEFT: BERND PRINCIPAL DR. CHAD THOMPSON, LEVITA CARTER, SUPERINTENDENT DR. DAN A. SIMS 46 maconmagazine.com | JUNE/JULY 2023

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