Ms. Atkinson can often be found with her camera bag and her hands full, ready to capture all the memories for the yearbook and help guide students toward their futures. Photo courtesy of J. Lessinger
Many know Ms. Atkinson from seeing her at school events, taking pictures for the yearbook, the Cypressonian. However, many don’t know all the hard work that Mrs. Atkinson does to make sure students, especially the senior class, have multiple opportunities to pave their future.
Ms. Atkinson is a product of the Lee County School District, where she attended Heights Elementary, Cypress Middle, and then Cypress Lake High. After graduation, she attended Edison Community College (now Florida SouthWestern State College) and then the University of South Florida (Go BULLS)! She is also the proud parent of two Cypress Center for the Arts graduates. She started her teaching career in Lee County and was hired right out of an internship to teach kindergarten at Franklin Park Elementary. After five years of kindergarten and first grade, she was asked to be one of the first intensive reading teachers in high school, right back here at her alma mater, Cypress Lake. She is now in her 31st year as a teacher and has taught kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, 9-12, Intensive Reading, Renaissance Leadership, and World History, as well as being a media specialist, yearbook advisor, and now College and Career Specialist.
Ms. Atkinson said her favorite part about her job is seeing students get excited when they finally have a plan. “Regardless of the path students choose, I just want them to be happy,” she said. She also enjoys the students – all of them – as well as the many coworkers who have become family over her more than 30 years as an educator. “I also love bringing back some of the traditions we had at Cypress when I was a student. I had an amazing high school experience as a Panther, and I love being able to help create some of those same experiences for our current students,” said Ms. Atkinson, whose least favorite thing about her job is the limited time that students have to collaborate and not being able to do all that needs to be done during the workday.
The next time you see Ms. Atkinson, thank her for not only organizing our amazing yearbook team every year but also for events like college fairs, posting scholarship and job opportunities, and so much more. Cypress wouldn’t be the same community it is if it wasn’t for our unsung heroes like Ms. Atkinson.