Georgia Literacy Director Speaks to Educators

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Current and future educators gathered at Saliba Chapel on Monday, September 9, as Brewton-Parker College hosted Georgia Department of Education Director of Literacy Amy Denty to share her expertise.

Denty has over 30 years of experience in education, beginning as a middle grades science teacher before working throughout various grades in K-12 schools as a teacher, assistant principal, and instructional coach, before becoming the Director of Curriculum and Instruc tion at Wayne County Schools, and eventually, the Wayne County Schools Superintendent of Teaching and Learning. She was selected as the state’s Director of Literacy by State School Superintendent Richard Woods in 2023.

She has earned many accolades within her years, including the Georgia Teacher of the Year and the Milken Educator Award – a truly prestigious honor, as typically, only one recipient is selected from each state each year. “That for teachers is like the Oscars. It's huge," Brewton-Parker College Assistant Professor of Education and Division Chair of Education, Behavioral Sciences, and Humanities Beverly Faircloth remarked.

Faircloth said that she was approached prior to the Semester by Denty – who currently serves as Instructional Specialist for GaDOE's Office of Rural Education and Innovation – because she wanted to speak to future students. “Her heart is for students, teaching, and rural Georgia. She asked me for the opportunity to come speak to future teachers, and I was honored to accept,” Faircloth emphasized.

Denty began her address by sharing her passion for education. “My favorite place is still to be in teacher mode. I love be ing around future teachers because there’s no greater privilege in the world than working with students – whether they are little, tiny students just starting out or high school students about to leave and go make their mark on the world,” she told the audience. "It concerns me that right now, our profession is really experiencing a teacher shortage. So, it makes my heart happy to come here and see so many people who want to go into what I believe is the greatest ca reer in the world.”

She emphasized the importance of understanding how to teach literacy to the students, as she informed them that literacy was not tied to an single subject or age group. “Literacy applies to all of us, and that’s what we’re really learning right now in our world of education. It's not just early childhood educators who need deep knowledge about how people learn to read and how to intervene when people have difficulties learning to read. That’s knowledge that we need in every classroom and at every stage.”

The speaker added, “We know that if our students can become proficient readers, it opens up their choices in life. It al lows them to make choices for them to go out and make their mark on the world. That’s a pretty awesome job responsibility.”

She utilized excerpts from Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco – which tells the story of a young girl who struggles with literacy after no longer being with her grandparents who value the skill, and a teacher’s impact on the student through teaching her to read – to emphasize the change which teachers may bring to students’ lives.

Dent also used the metaphor that literacy is like honey, in that making honey and learning to read are both hard things, both honey and literacy have healing properties and are natural soothers, both things make you smarter, and both things last forever.

She ended her address by updating attendees on “the buzz” about literacy, as she provided information on the new Georgia Early Literacy Act, Council on Literacy, School Supply Bill, and upcoming dyslexia legislation.

“Denty’s presentation provided our students with invaluable real-world insights and underscored the vital role of literacy education,” Faircloth reflected. “Her dedication and experience are truly inspiring as our students prepare for their future careers in education.”

LITERACY AND HONEY – When speaking to current and future educators at Brewton-Parker College, Georgia Department of Education Director of Literacy Amy Denty told the audience that literacy was like honey, as she made the connection of how both things may “sweeten” life.Photo by Makaylee Randolph