Donna Hix Scott always wanted to be a teacher. The 1981 University of North Georgia (UNG) graduate has known that since she was in elementary school in Habersham County.
"My parents told me that as we passed Piedmont College one day, I said 'That's where I want to be a teacher,'" Scott said.
The self-fulfilling prophecy came true, but in a slightly different way than she imagined.
After she earned a degree in middle grades education, Scott got a job teaching at an elementary school. She then volunteered her time as a counselor, dance organizer and basketball sponsor.
"My husband said it is a gift to love what you do and if you do it, then you aren’t working," Scott said.
Her love for her students and extra-curricular involvement gained notice from her peers and superiors. Then one of her principals approached her with the possibility of a position in the education administration.
"He said 'You need to think about administration because you can help more kids,'" Scott said.
While she was always happy in the classroom, she pounced on the new challenge thanks to her school's support.
"I've always been fortunate to be around people who saw something in me and encouraged me to lead at a high level," she said.
Those high levels included being an assistant principal for six years, then a principal for 17 more years. Most recently, she was principal of Phoenix High School in Gwinnett County for 11 years. She retired in May 2019.
At the open-campus, alternative-based school, Scott worked with traditional and non-traditional students in a new way. A majority of the students were classified as dropouts because they did not complete their high school education in the standard four years. Scott and her staff discovered simple ways to keep students engaged.
"We called the student and asked 'Why did you drop out?'" she said. "Then we told them about the different options and programs we had that could help them graduate."
Scott said they steered the students toward a career or college.
She also helped shepherd the opening of the Phoenix's satellite campus at Sugarloaf Mills Mall. The satellite facility allows students to access school resources before, during and after work with its 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday hours.
"The school is open on weekends for students to study and complete their tasks that they need to graduate," Scott said.
With the satellite facility and a helpful mindset, Scott said the program is successful.
"We have a good passage rate," she said.
The Alto, Georgia, woman attributed her problem-solving skills to the lessons she learned at UNG.
"I was put into a situation where I was given a problem with a group of people and we had to solve it," Scott said. "And sometimes if something is hard, it takes time to solve it. So you have to step back and reflect. Then the solution presents itself. I learned to do that at UNG."
