Staff and faculty surprised a Glenn Hills Comprehensive High School science teacher on Friday afternoon, April 26, with a new national award.
Selected for her work in supporting students with their college and career planning, LuTongel Few was one of three educators nationwide to receive the College Board’s BigFuture Visionary Teacher award and a $1,000 prize.
MORE: Augusta DA, sheriff, judge candidates present views as early voting starts
By assisting students with navigating BigFuture, an online resource that helps students successfully prepare for life after high school, Director of College Board K-12 Penny Damianeas said Few was nominated for the award by colleagues for her dedicated work to always inspire and push students.
“Her colleague Mr. Roberts, nominated her and went through the exceptional things that she has been doing in the classroom and incorporating BigFuture into it,” Damianeas said. “We have to make sure our kids are ready not just for the assessment, but making sure that they are college and career ready. She takes that step further.”
Rev. Dennis Roberts Jr., who taught at Glenn Hills in 2023-24, said he nominated Few because she always happily and selflessly goes the extra mile for her students and fellow teachers.
“She’s truly an inspiration – not just to the students, but also to the teachers and the staff,” he said. “She’s always supportive. She goes above and beyond, and a lot of times she stays here hours and constantly helps, because even when I was in school, she helped me out.”
In addition to winning one of BigFuture’s first year national Visionary Teacher awards, Few was announced as Glenn Hills’ 2024-25 Teacher of the Year and crowned with a sparkling tiara by her school principal Valeria Smith.
Smith, who used to teach alongside Few, said she has seen firsthand the astounding teacher’s effect on students’ science comprehension, and how Few’s caring attitude has been a vital piece to the familial atmosphere of the high school.
“We’re a special kind of community … we have a lot of extended family. Students don’t actually live with mom and dad,” Smith said. “When they can find someone nurturing and caring and actually cares about their success, then they can’t find a better person than Mrs. Few.”
Ecstatic at receiving unexpected accolades, Few said she was at a loss for words to describe her happiness.
“I’m overwhelmed; I’m on cloud nine … beyond the stratosphere,” Few said after being applauded and cheered by the entire Glenn Hills’ student body.
After teaching for almost two decades, Few has learned to intentionally show her students pieces of herself as a human being, because this allows students to connect with her on a more personable level.
To Few, the established relationship then transfers into classroom successes, which leads to the best feeling – witnessing students’ comprehension click into place.
“I don’t accept anything less than their best. I make sure that I’m there; I’m a resource for them – a safe space for them,” she said. “… if it makes it to the kitchen table, I feel like I’ve done my job and that’s the greatest gift.”
