Ellena Moore is a fourth grade English, language arts and social studies teacher who is returning from being a retired teacher and is returning into the profession she knows and loves.
Moore retired in Georgia in 2014 after 30 years of teaching, but soon found out that she was “too young to retire” and went right back into the teaching field.
For the last 10 years, Moore taught fifth grade before she retired. Her earlier experience was in teaching first, second and fourth grades.
Teaching in Madison County marks her first year of teaching in a Florida school.
Moore attended Ft. Valley State University where she received her bachelors and masters degree and received her Education Specialists (Ed.S) degree from Nova Southeastern University.
Moore’s mother was a teacher for 44 years and Moore states that watching her mother’s students return and thank her for her dedication to them was pivotal in her own decision to become a teacher.
“[My mother] would run into some of her old students on the street after they were grown and they would hug her and thank her so much for her inspiration and motivation and what she did for them when they were younger,” said Allen. “That motivated me when I saw how much admiration [the students] had for her.”
Moore also states that everything is a continuous process to get her students to a point of understanding. “It doesn’t happen overnight,” said Moore. “Sometimes you [have] late bloomers and you have to look at the small steps they make.” Moore also says that sometimes what she may see in a classroom and what she sees in her own student’s growth may not always correlate, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t growth happening.
Moore has been married to her husband for 30 years and they currently reside in Valdosta with two of Moore’s three daughters. Moore also has a seven-year-old grandson and a four-month-old granddaughter.
When she isn’t encouraging her students to grow and learn, Moore enjoys reading spiritual and inspirational quotes, singing, dancing and both she and her husband love to travel. “One day I hope to go to Spain,” says Moore, joking that maybe in her eventual second retirement she and her husband will finally be able to go.
