"I attempt to provide opportunities for students to excel and then I challenge them to be their best," says Joe Ann Clark, a gifted-education teacher at Puckett Attendance Center in Puckett. Shortly after moving to Puckett, Dr. Clark embarked on a search for ways to incorporate the poultry-raising industry that is the mainstay of this rural community into the curriculum. After consulting local businesses, environmental and agricultural agencies, community leaders and university experts, she developed "A LITTERate Approach to a FOWL Problem," a research program that studied the effects of the local industry on the environment. The program received national recognition and paved the way for more environmental projects. Dr. Clark also expects all of her students to undertake yearly citizenship and community service projects. Through Dr. Clark's leadership program, students have started a school newspaper, instituted a teacher appreciation day and tutored fellow students.
1966 Mississippi State University, B.S.
