LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Angela Bonner was nominated by her colleague, Sky Kong.

Ms. Bonner is truly a LifeChanger! She has overcome many obstacles in her life, including being a single teenage mother of twins. Despite the obstacles, she has made great strides to make the best of her situation for herself and children. As an adult, her life has not been without challenges, also. Two years ago, she faced a parent’s worst nightmare, as she has had to bury her only son. Again, she remained determined to see that something good came out of this tragedy. She used his life story to help others and to bring awareness to the issue of mental illness though the NAMI Association.

Ms. Bonner is a strong advocate for student rights, as she went to school to become a special education teacher.  She has been with the Poplarville School District for 20 years within the special education classroom. She has worked diligently to further her education by earning two Master's degrees in special education and educational leadership. Ms. Bonner is currently completing her doctoral degree in educational leadership and administration. All of this has been done while being a mentor and serving as an assistant graduate advisor for the Iota Kappa Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is also an active member of the Theta Sigma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She serves as an advocate and treasurer for the Pearl River County NAACP. 

Within her district, Ms. Bonner wears many hats. She serves  as the chair of the Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET), liaison for alternative education students, and a member of the District Improvement Team (DIT), School Improvement Team (SIT), and Teachers Emerging as Administrators (TEA). Recently, she was selected as a participant in the Mississippi Association Educators 2019-2020 Teacher Leadership Institute cohort. Her capstone project will focus on identifying what factors are related to zero-tolerance policies and their role in the school to prison pipeline.

Ms. Bonner is committed to ensuring she is up-to-date on current knowledge so she will be better equipped to help other teachers, students and parents. She always takes the time to find out exactly what each student needs to progress. She has consistently spent much of her free time helping individuals after school and even on weekends. Ms. Bonner works countless hours to make sure she is providing the best instruction and services to all. She has a passion for leading her students towards being productive members of society, rather than only having good academic certificates.

Ms. Bonner believes in doing what is best for the “little people." This is evidenced by her commitment to further her education, her involvement in working with district leadership to improve the educational opportunities and learning environment for all students, and her dedication to the field of education and all students that she serves.

"Angela is not only a colleague, but a friend who I cherish," said Kong.