Mrs. Sparks

My name is Katherine Sparks. I am originally from Athens, Alabama, although I have called Thomasville home since 2013. I graduated in 2012 from the University of Mobile with a degree in Social Science with Secondary Education Certification. My first four years of my teaching career were spent in the Clarke County School System. I have been at THS for five years. I am the Senior Sponsor and Yearbook Advisor. I have been married to my husband, Matthew, for seven years, and we have a dog named Glenn.

Sparks connects history instruction to current events

By Barry H. Hendrix

Generally students dread history,” said Katherine Sparks, a teacher at Thomasville High School. “They tend to find it boring.”
However, “there is so much going on in our world today that can be connected to events in the past. My goal is for students to better understand the world today by studying the world of the past.
“I also stress with students the importance of doing their own research and forming their own opinions, rather than going along with the crowd,” she said.
Sparks teaches 11th grade U.S. History II and Career Prep at THS.
Since April 6, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, students in the Thomasville City Schools District are being taught through non-traditional learning. “The biggest challenge I have had through distance learning is that I'm really only able to be there as a facilitator rather than a teacher,”she said.
Normally in her classroom, “I mostly integrate technology in the classroom in supplemental ways, but I also strongly believe in students getting back to the basics when it comes to education.
“…I love teaching. I love getting to have discussions with my students and just the daily conversations that I get to have. I miss little things like homeroom and the ‘beginnings’ and ‘ends’ of class, where I just get to talk to my students.”
Sparks was born in Mobile and raised in Athens, Ala. She is a graduate of East Limestone High School in Athens. She earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Social Science with a certification in Secondary Education from the University of Mobile.
“My mother is a teacher,” Sparks said. “So for as long as I could remember, I wanted to be a teacher. My 11th grade History teacher, Earl Miller, made me really want to teach History.”
“Before teaching in Thomasville, I taught one year at Clarke County High School and three years at Wilson Hall Middle School.”
Sparks also serves as the yearbook sponsor at THS.
“I have been married to Matthew Sparks for six years,” she said. Matthew, a THS graduate, is director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Thomasville. He has also coached the middle school baseball team. “We just recently got a new puppy named Glenn.
“I am a middle child,” Sparks said. “I have an older brother, Kyle, and a younger sister, Sarah Beth. My parents still live in Athens. My mother, Mitzi, teaches second grade at Johnson Elementary, and my father, Rex, is a minister of Music at First Baptist Tanner.
When not teaching, “I like to paint and I also like to hang out and play games with family and friends.”

Meet Mrs. Sparks

My name is Katherine Sparks and I am an 11th grade history teacher at Thomasville High School. I am married to Matthew Sparks and we have a dog named Hank. I taught 4 years in the Clarke County School System and this is my second year with Thomasville City Schools. I have a bachelor's degree in social science from the University of Mobile. I am happy to be a Thomasville Tiger!

Thomasville High School

Mrs. Sparks

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