Everyone at Portal Middle/High School knows “Miss Hattie.”
Hattie Mae Glover has lived in Portal since she was 5 years old. She has always wanted to work at the school. She said she tried to get a job at Portal for 13 years when then-principal Joanne Rathcliff hired her as a paraprofessional to the special needs children in 1992.
Seventeen years later, she’s still there, working with Angela Jones, the teacher in charge of the 9th-12th grade special needs children.
Portal principal Jimmy Parrish emphatically declared, “She is the sweetest, most gentle person I have ever known.”
Rene Cowart, school secretary, agreed. “She is the sweetest woman that God has ever put on the face of the Earth.”
Megan Puckett, a junior at Portal, also had high praise: “I love ‘Miss Hattie.’ I’ve known her for every day of my life. In fact, she was the nanny for my brother and I even before we were born. She is the only person I have ever met who can get along with everyone everywhere.”
Glover is married to Wilbur Glover Jr., and they have five kids: three are theirs (Tina, James, and Michael); and two are relatives that she’s cared for since childhood (Kendra and Travis). Glover came from a huge family: she had eight brothers and seven sisters, of whom she was the oldest child. Fifteen are still alive. As she said, “We’re just one big happy family. Everybody come to everybody’s rescue: that’s just the way it is.”
Glover maintains a strong faith in the school.
“Portal School is a big part of the community here,” she said. “I guess what I like most about it is that everybody knows everybody – it’s just friendly – it’s real nice. In fact, I’ve known many of my children’s parents when they themselves were little children. I hope they know I’ll take care of their little ones as if they were my very own.”
Currently, there are seven children in her class. Glover said.
“I’m with them all day, every day, for all four grade levels. They really do become my children. After school lets out during the summer, if I don’t see them in the neighborhoods I get to worrying about them, wondering who’s taking care of them.”
Parrish said Glover always has a soft spot for children.
“She becomes their mothers when they are at school,” Parrish said. “She shows so much love for those kids, it’s amazing.”
SUBSCRIBE to the Statesboro Herald print edition and get
EXCLUSIVE news and information you won't find on the internet. You'll have Soundoff,
LOCAL Birth Announcements, School information pages and columnists like Jan Moore,
Phil Boyum, Roger Allen, John Bressler and Holli Bragg. Also, Letters to the Editor,
Local Editorials and Money-Saving Sale Inserts/Coupon Books will all be there for you!
When you're away from home, you can read the paper page by page anywhere, anytime from
your computer with your subscription.
Email Article |
Print Article |
Sign Up for Our Email Newsletter
|
