Woodstock Educator Named Media Specialist of the Year

Submitted by the Cherokee County School District

Woodstock Middle School Media Specialist Wendy Cope is always on the move, whether she is searching for the perfect classroom teacher resource, exploring new technology for the media center or matching up a student with the perfect novel.

She quietly works her way around bookshelves and computers in the media center and throughout Woodstock Middle School every day, inspiring awe and appreciation from students, parents and her peers, as well as her family.

“She never stops, she is always on the go; she’s like a ninja librarian,” said Haley Cope, the media specialist’s oldest daughter, who is junior at River Ridge High School. “She’s my role model.”

Cope’s hard work — and ninja skills — were recognized Tuesday by Cherokee County School Superintendent Dr. Frank Petruzielo, as he looked around the media center on Tuesday at a group of surprised teachers and students and announced that Cope had been selected as the 2015 Cherokee County School District’s Media Specialist of the Year.

“This is a place where kids want to be,” he said. “Where inquiry, research, hard work — and some fun — occur on a daily basis. Ms. Cope is clearly all about relationships, and she builds relationships with students to keep you in an active learning mode all the time.”

Cope was a classroom teacher for 19 years before becoming a media specialist, and she takes pride in being able to anticipate teachers’ needs. She is also well-known as the “go to” person for technology questions at the school.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from University of Georgia, as well as a master’s degree from UGA and a specialist degree in library media and information technology from University of West Georgia.

She taught previously at Woodstock Middle and River Ridge, and also served as an adjunct professor at Kennesaw State University. She and her husband Jim have two daughters, Haley and Tess (who attends Woodstock Middle, but missed the surprise announcement due to a band performance).

In her application, Cope stressed that she sees herself as “another teacher in the classroom,” an asset and a resource for her peers. She has won multiple awards and grants to foster collaboration with teachers, including an IMPACT grant last year from the Cherokee County Education Foundation.

“Our Woodstock Middle School library has at its heart the spirit of inquiry, of exploring new avenues of interest. As a librarian, my job is to curate-not just my collection, but relationships,” Cope said in her application. “By knowing my students, our curriculum and my teachers, I can anticipate our needs and facilitate the tasks at hand. Our library is a place of YES.”

Eighth-grade English teacher Rosa Frederick said media specialist has a gift for matching kids to books and leading reluctant readers to the well.

“These students think they hate to read,” Frederick added. “Wendy happily pulls books from the stacks; she knows books and she knows kids. The kids trust her judgment because she has never steered them wrong on a book. My class of struggling readers is my most successful class of readers now.”

Photo 1: School Superintendent Dr. Frank R. Petruzielo gives a congratulatory hug to Woodstock MS media specialist Wendy Cope with the announcement she has been chosen as the CCSD Media Specialist of the Year.
Photo 2: Wendy Cope reacts with surprise when presented the award for CCSD Media Specialist of the Year.
Photo 3: Superintendent Dr. Petruzielo, center, commends Ms. Cope for her ability to build relationships and work with teachers, as well as her expertise in technology, which led to her selection as the 2015 CCSD Media Specialist of the Year. Oldest daughter Haley Cope and her husband Jim Cope look on, left, while WMS Principal Mark Smith tweets the news out to the Wolfpack followers on Twitter.
Photo 4: Wendy Cope
Photo 5: From left, CCSD Deputy Superintendent Dr. Brian Hightower, Haley Cope, Jim Cope, Wendy Cope, CCSD Superintendent Dr. Frank Petruzielo and WMS Principal Mark Smith.
Photo credits: Cherokee County School District

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