Suzanne Mozley ~ Hartselle at Heart, Heart for Teaching

Lauren Estes-Velez

Hartselle Enquirer

A Burleson Elementary fourth grade teacher knew from a young age that she wanted to teach, and although there were several setbacks keeping her from teaching over the past decade, her career is now in full swing.

The now seven-year Hartselle teaching veteran Suzanne Mozley said although her initial teaching journey didn’t go as planned, she has since found her way.

“I began substituting in the Hartselle City System in 2008; I was hired as a fifth-grade teacher at F.E. Burleson Elementary in 2010,” Mozley said. “Since that time, I have taught fifth and third and am currently teaching in the fourth grade.”

Mozley said she knew from the time that she was in kindergarten that she wanted to be a teacher.

“I loved everything about school, including my teachers,” Mozley said. “My first teacher, Mrs. Henson, was fun, sweet, young and tough. Even though I got into trouble, and my grades weren’t wonderful, I loved her and wanted to be her. She never accepted less than my best.

“I played ‘school’ with my dolls at home or friends that would come over. It was very rare that I didn’t like a teacher, and I tried to emulate them all. Perhaps it was my sixth-grade year when I found myself wanting to help others. I truly loved sharing what I knew and encouraging others.”

Mozley said she has “never thought twice about whether I wanted to be a teacher or not.

“At times, I questioned the field of study. Do I want to teach middle school? Elementary? Become a librarian?” Mozley recalled. “I settled on elementary education because I felt that I had a gift when it came to children. I still at times think about moving up to a higher grade and working with older students.”

Although her passion for leading others in a classroom constantly remained in the back of her mind, it was put on hold for a period of time as life happened.

“Up until 1987, I live in East Gadsden, and then my parents decided to move. I began Southside High School as a freshman that year,” Mozley said. “It was at Southside High School that I met and fell in love with my best friend, now husband.” 

Suzanne and Obie married March 18, 1994, after four years of dating. “We lived and worked in the Gadsden area. I finished college in the spring of 1996 and began working as an aide at Southside Elementary in the fall of 1996,” she said. “I was at Southside Elementary for two years: one year as a teacher’s aide and one year as a third-grade teacher.

“When my husband’s company lost their contract with the local utility departments, we were forced to transfer out of state. I was heartbroken to have to leave my first teaching job and move to Knoxville.”

She said she immediately began the process of getting a Tennessee teaching certificate, but “about the time that my certificate came in the mail, I found out we were going to have a baby.”

After setting into the new area and receiving her Tennessee state teaching certificate, the new adventure of having a baby began.

“My son, Blake, was born June 2, 1999, in Knoxville, and the teaching career I had always dreamed of seemed so unimportant,” Mozley said. “All I wanted to do was stay home and raise my child.

“One year after Blake was born, my husband was able to transfer back to Alabama. This time we would call Decatur home. From the time Blake was born until my second son, Nicholas, was 4 years old, I was a stay-at-home mom. I was able to teach my children the skills they would need to enter the world. I missed the classroom but never regretted the time spent with my boys.”

Soon she was able to bring back her dream of standing in the classroom, sharing knowledge with little minds and helping to mold them into bright, confident young people.

“In August 2010, I stepped back into the classroom full time at F.E. Burleson Elementary in Hartselle,” Mozley said. “This was the school that both of my children attended. I had substituted and filled several leaves-of-absence, but I officially had my own class again.

“I was blessed with the best class of fifth graders that year, loved it and thought I would stay there forever.”

She taught fifth grade for three years until the district created an intermediate school.

“Fifth grade was moving out, and I made the decision to stay at Burleson. I taught third grade the following year, but missed teaching the older students. The next year, I was able to loop with my group of students as they went to fourth grade. I am in my fourth year teaching fourth grade.”

Mozley said her parents raised her to be a strong, independent child, which helped her as adult pursue her goals. She said along with her parents, there have been many influential people in her life who helped her get to this point in her career.

“I can’t say any one person created a desire for me to become a teacher; I think it was always there, a God-given gift,” Mozley said. “However, I have had many people along the way who have encouraged me through the struggles and offered suggestions to help me choose the right educational path.

“Terry Hughes, who is a current co-worker of mine, was the one person who gave me the ‘push’ to get back into the classroom. It can be scary to think about going back to work after staying home for so long. She gave me multiple opportunities to substitute for her, and I was even able to fill a medical leave for her when it was needed. She expressed her confidence in me to administration and gave me the confidence I needed to succeed.”

Although Mozley said she enjoys where she is and what she is currently doing, she is also trying to broaden her knowledge by pursuing a master’s degree.

“Today, I am content teaching fourth grade math, but my desire is to continue learning about ways to make myself a better teacher,” Mozley said. “I am pursuing a master’s degree in instructional technology because I believe that if I am to communicate with today’s students, I need to be fluent in their means of communication. My goal is to finish the program by the summer 2018.

She said she wants to “learn to create meaningful content that will hold their attention, and then, I want to share that with other teachers. I know that technology changes from day to day, and this will be an ongoing learning process. Teaching is my gift, and I cherish it almost as much as I do my own family.

“I am also the teacher sponsor for the robotics and programming club at Burleson Elementary. We have attended the University of Alabama Robotics Competition for the past two years. In the spring of 2017, one of our teams placed third.”

Teaching is not always given the appreciation that is due, with the dedication of time and commitment it takes to instruct students and truly help them learn. Teachers truly appreciate gratitude from past students and parents when it is received, Mozley said.

“One of the things that always sticks with me the most are the thank you notes written by students,” Mozley said. “Often, we as teachers do not realize the impact we have on our students’ lives. However, it’s those ‘Thanks for listening to me’ or ‘Thank you for insisting I do my best’ notes that keep us going.

“Once I had a student who had been really hard to motivate. He was making C’s and D’s, and I knew that he could do better. Many times I would hand back his work and say, ‘You can do better, try that again.’ He would huff and puff and redo assignments.

“At the end of the year, he made the A/B honor roll. He wrote me the sweetest note thanking me for pushing him to do his best.

“It’s those moments when you know that you have made a difference that will last a lifetime.”