ATLANTA -- It's no secret the middle school years are a tough part of the growing up process. The awkwardness of adolescence comes with the changes both physically and emotionally for kids.
"This such a hard age that they are looking for their identify, and if they can find one person at school that that can relate to," said Kandy Wilkinson. "Then, they've connected."
At Atlanta's Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, one person kids relate to is language arts teacher Tara Johnson. She believes she understands them because she and the students come from similar backgrounds.
"Ms. Johnson is a person who is doing what she was meant to do in life. Everyday, she comes in with a positive, go-getter attitude," Wilkinson said.
"Some the issues, some the struggles, I faced some of those things, too, growing up in the inner-city schools," Johnson said.
She also relates well to them when it comes to fashion.
"The way I dress, the kids love the way I dress," she said. "Some of the places they shop, I probably shop too."
At MLK Middle School, she's known for being one of the kids -- someone they turn to, knowing she gets it.
"You see how she is with students and she just has a special connection with kids," Wilkinson said. "She fits with them. And the kids look up to her."
"I'm just able to relate to them. They know that they feel that. That inspires them," Johnson said.
"She has shown over time that no job is too big, or too small. Before becoming a full-time teacher, she had worked as a long-term substitute at King Middle School. Ms. Johnson has worked with students in the in-school suspension department, as well with deaf students," Wilkinson wrote in her nomination for Johnson as an 11Alive Class Act teacher.
Johnson is director of the after-school program, which is used to enhance and enrich the lives of children as they become young adults.
"It is obvious that Tara Johnson is an ambitious teacher, who is a team player and a leader amongst her peers and students," Wilkinson said.
Do you know a teacher who deserves to be recognized? Nominate that person for the 11Alive Class Act Award.