VIDALIA &8212; Not much in life pointed Derinda Smith in the direction of Vidalia Junior High School.

Teaching wasn&8217;t her chosen career &8212; she spent 20 years working as a bookkeeper and a secretary for Xerox and a local oil company.

When God told her it was time for a career change, she headed into education but planned on working with kids at the beginning of their educational careers, not in the troubled middle years.

Since there were no openings at Vidalia Lower Elementary when Smith finished her teacher certification, she went to VJHS, but it was only supposed to be temporary.

&8220;I decided this was the age group I wanted,&8221; she said. &8220;This is the age group that needs someone that cares.&8221;

A seventh-grade language arts teacher, Smith has been at the junior high for seven years now, with no plans to leave.

And she&8217;s doing something right. Her fellow VJHS teachers chose Smith as the school&8217;s teacher of the year for this school year. She was later chosen as the Concordia Parish School District&8217;s middle school teacher of the year.

&8220;I really don&8217;t feel like I deserve this,&8221; she said. &8220;In my opinion there are teachers here that are more deserving.

&8220;Having the support of the teachers here at this school, it&8217;s a wonderful honor.&8221;

But she does have at least one advantage in the teaching world because she started working with children after already having another career, she said.

&8220;At my age, I&8217;m older and have more patience,&8221; she said. &8220;And I haven&8217;t been doing it that long, so I&8217;m not tired.&8221;

The rewards for her work are even greater at the junior high level, she said, where she has the chance to see growth in children with troubled pasts.

&8220;I feel like I&8217;m contributing to children learning,&8221; Smith said. &8220;A child learning is one of the greatest rewards.&8221;

Plus, it&8217;s the school environment that makes learning possible.

&8220;We have a lot of parents who care,&8221; she said. &8220;It&8217;s a very safe school. The teachers are wonderful and (Principal) Dr. (Paul) Nelson and (Assistant Principal) Mr. (Whest) Shirley are doing an excellent job.&8221;

Smith also works as a new teacher mentor at VJHS, leads a homebound school for one parish student after regular school hours two days a week and is taking graduate classes.

Once she completes her classes on supervision of student teachers she&8217;ll be eligible to have a student teacher in her room.

The parish school district didn&8217;t choose a teacher of the year at the elementary and high school levels this year because of a lack of applicants. The district only awards the title based on grade level and doesn&8217;t pick an overall winner.

Smith&8217;s application has been entered in the regional teacher of the year competition.