Hope and J.D. Davis are proud of her honor as Discovery’s Teacher of the Year. CONTRIBUTED

MADISON – Discovery Middle School’s faculty selected Hope Davis as Teacher of the Year.

Davis sponsors Spanish Club and teaches Spanish I to eighth-graders, who earn high school credit. Previously, she taught for six years at Bob Jones High School, but teaching a high school course in middle school has been her best career experience.

“Being a part of what prepares and gets them ready for transition (to high school) is very rewarding. The biggest challenge is getting students to believe in themselves and realize they … can do the work.”

Last summer, Davis and world language teachers from Bob Jones attended training for advanced-placement (AP) certification. “We dedicated ourselves to aligning courses so students are exposed to AP-like exercises as early as level I,” she said.

In recent months, Davis implemented numerous reading, writing and speaking activities similar to the AP Spanish Language test’s format. “I was so proud of my students for tackling these challenging activities,” she said. “Their growth was impressive.”

Davis encourages students with a quote from former Costa Rican president Alfredo González: “No prometamos lo imposible, pero no llamemos imposible lo que solamente es difícil.” Translation: “We do not promise the impossible, but we will not call impossible that which is only difficult.”

Lesa Clough, Spanish teacher at Bob Jones, motivated Davis to learn Spanish. “I fell in love with the language during a mission trip to Mexico. Ms. Clough nurtured that love, and it continued to grow in her class. I’ve been blessed to not only have Lesa Clough as a teacher but also as a colleague.”

Davis received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish International Trade at Auburn University. She earned teacher certification at Athens State University.

Her husband J.D. works for Halsey Food Service. “Last October, we lost our son Asher during my sixth month of pregnancy, but we’re currently in the process of adopting our first child. We hope to adopt an infant through domestic adoption,” she said.

“During my very trying time last year, my Discovery family surrounded me with love and support! There were tough days, but work was my safe haven. (When) I walked through the doors, I was surrounded by love and comfort. That gave me strength to keep going,” Davis said.