John A. Garrett, B.A., M.Ed., earned his undergraduate degree in speech, theatre, and English from William Carey University in Hattiesburg, MS, and a master’s degree in English education from Auburn University in Alabama. Furthermore, he completed coursework for certification in educational administration at Auburn University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and William Carey University.
A thirty-eight-year veteran teacher, Mr. Garrett retired in 2005 from teaching public school after twenty-one years at Westfield High School in Spring ISD, a district in the suburbs north of Houston, Texas. He has taught all levels of English, below-level to advanced placement (AP), in grades eight through twelve, college-level dual-credit courses at Westfield articulated with North Harris County College, and college speech communication and English as an adjunct instructor at Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College and with his alma mater, William Carey University. In addition to English, he has taught speech and theatre courses at both the middle school and high school levels before being promoted to K-12 Language Arts Coordinator for the Pascagoula (MS) Municipal School District, a position he held for over eight years. Trained as a writing instructor with the New Jersey Writing Project in Texas, Mr. Garrett taught an AP Rhetoric and Composition course designed to hone the writing skills of gifted and talented students for eight years before his retirement in December of 2005.
In 1991 Mr. Garrett was selected as the Westfield High School Teacher of the Year, Spring ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year, and Spring ISD K-12 Teacher of the Year, and was nominated for the Texas Region IV Teacher of the Year. He was named to “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” for three consecutive years (2002-2004), an honor he cherishes because each time he was nominated by former students who, themselves, had been chosen as a Who’s Who Among America’s High School Students or National Dean’s List honoree. In 2007 he was again named to “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers,” this time nominated by one of his homeschool students at HIS Classes. Additionally, he was recognized in 2005 as a Spring ISD “Distinguished Educator,” an honor bestowed upon him by a former student who, as a graduate in the top 5% of his class, selected Mr. Garrett as the teacher who had the most influence on him during his K-12 educational experience.
Teaching writing is Mr. Garrett’s passion. His students have won numerous writing awards over the years, notably gold and silver keys in the Houston-area and National Scholastic Writing Competition. In fact, two of his HIS students last year won gold key awards in this most prestigious writing competition.
