It’s another tough Wednesday for Shameka Council at King’s Fork Middle School. As if one class of students wasn’t enough, the 1998 Nansemond River graduate has to look after two this afternoon. Fortunately, she’s got a cinematic ally in her health class: the film &uot;Radio,&uot; which keep a roomful of student entranced for their time in the learning center.

But not everyone gets to check out the 2003 Cuba Gooding Jr. film; along the back wall of the classroom, several students sit turned toward the bricks, pouring over their school books. These kids aren’t allowed to watch – they’re part of the school’s Inner-School Suspension (ISS) program, which Council has been heading up at Fork since last year.

It wasn’t her first foray into teaching, however; Council began substituting at Suffolk schools in Oct. 2002 while studying at Paul D. Camp Community College. For the next two months, she helped out at Elephant’s Fork and Nansemond Parkway Elementary and John F. Kennedy Middle.

&uot;I wanted to get the feeling of a classroom,&uot; she said. &uot;I didn’t want to come out of college and not have the feeling.&uot;

Since early 2003, most of Council’s time has been spent at Fork, under principal Talmadge Darden, who was Council’s principal during her time at John Yeates Middle.

&uot;He’s so sweet,&uot; she said. &uot;People here greet you in the morning, and tell you when your classes are going to be and when you’re going to get a break. If I wanted to volunteer during lunch or at the dances, I could do that. They don’t treat you like a sub; they treat you like a normal teacher.&uot;

Before the 2004-05 school year began, she got a chance to take that step; Darden selected her to run Fork’s ISS.

&uot;I knew she could do a good job, because she’d been subbing for us for so long,&uot; he said. &uot;She was a good disciplinarian as a substitute, so we figured that she could handle the kids in ISS.&uot;

But president Freddie Wiggins and the rest of the Suffolk Substitute Teacher’s Association still recognized how hard Council had worked as a stand-in instructor; she was named the Substitute Teacher of the Year for 2005-06.

&uot;She has been doing an outstanding job this year at King’s Fork,&uot; said Wiggins, whose organization comprised over 320 teachers last year. &uot;She’s been working long-term with the ISS program, and she also has been a very dedicated substitute teacher overall. We chose her due to the fact that we appreciate her helping out the students for the school year and adding a higher quality to education.&uot;

A single mother of four, Council is now studying at Norfolk State for her degree in history, which she hopes to teach when she graduates next year (she obtained her associate’s degree in management from Camp in 2003).

&uot;Without the help of my mom, Jacqueline, and my neighbor, I wouldn’t be able to work full-time,&uot; Council said. &uot;I was surprised that I got the award out of all the rest of the substitutes. I think I’ll wait until I finish college to celebrate!&uot;

jason.norman@suffolknewsherald.com