Toni Buchanan
Position: Agricultural Science Teacher
School: Clarkdale Attendance Center
School District: Lauderdale County School District
City, State: Meridian, MS
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On Tuesday, April 28, 2020, we surprised Toni as a LifeChanger Award winner! Toni received $3,000 to be shared with her school. Check out the surprise below:
Toni Buchanan was nominated by her colleague, Debbie Fant.
Mrs. Buchanan, who is known by her students as Mrs. B. or Mama B., has been teaching agricultural science at Clarkdale Attendance Center for the past fifteen years. She is also the FFA sponsor, and under her leadership, Clarkdale has one of the strongest FFA programs in the state of Mississippi.
Her professional resume is quite lengthy; she has a true passion for educating students, and she devotes much time and energy to this endeavor. In 2005, Mrs. Buchanan was named Mississippi's Outstanding Rookie Agricultural Teacher of the Year. In 2007, she was chosen as the recipient of the National Association of Agricultural Educators' Teacher Turn Key Award. The following year, Mrs. B. was selected as the Mississippi Farm Bureau Teacher of the Year. In 2009, she was chosen as Clarkdale's Teacher of the Year. In 2010, she was selected to serve on the Mississippi Association of Vocational Agricultural Teachers Ideas Unlimited. The following year, she was chosen to be the DuPont Agriscience Ambassador, and in 2012, she was the recipient of the MS Power Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2013, she was chosen as the Golden Apple Award winner. Since 2017, she has been an MSU Mentor Teacher. In 2019, she was named the Central District Agricultural Education Teacher of the Year. She has presented workshops at the state and national levels for the National Association of Educators' Conference and the National FFA convention. Mrs. B. recently received a $20,000 grant for her FFA students to spend on supplies. She is in the process of writing a $100,000 grant.
Several years ago, one of Mrs. B's students was tragically killed in an automobile accident. This young man was a rodeo bull-rider, so in his honor, she organized a benefit rodeo which raised $30,000 to cover his medical and funeral expenses. This benefit rodeo not only filled a monetary need, but it helped to heal a bereft school and community. It's only one of many examples of how Mrs. B always goes above and beyond the call of duty.
Mrs. B serves as a mentor and a role model to her students. She has been able to reach students who are otherwise not successful within the classroom. She relates to each student, finds their strengths, and provides opportunities for them to grow. One former student wrote to her that because of her examples of servitude, he became an EMT because he, too, desired to pay it forward. This former student referred to Mrs. B as his friend and substitute mother.
Under Mrs. B's leadership, Clarkdale's FFA students have built over 400 beds to distribute to children in need of beds. The title of this project is No Child Sleeps on the Floor. Furthermore, she orchestrated the construction of a school barn through grants and community partnerships. The barn is now filled with animals, which her students show in 4-H livestock shows. She has collaborated with the elementary teachers so their students can tour the barn and learn from her students about animal care.
Another example of her nature of servitude is that she installed a food pantry within the school. Through community partnerships with local churches, she had the pantry stocked with food. The food pantry is accessible to anyone in the school or the community.
To visit her classroom is a treat. You never know what you will find, but one thing is for sure: her students will be engaged in learning, whether they are building beds, sheering sheep, welding, etc.
Mrs. B's altruistic behavior naturally spills over into her personal life. Recently, she and her husband decided to adopt the two little girls whom they have fostered for the past several years.
"I recall the day when she told me she had decided to foster," said Fant. "She told me it wouldn't be easy, but there was a need for foster homes in this state, and she felt a calling to meet that need. Mrs. B is the embodiment of selflessness."
Congratulations, Toni!!! You have been at Clarkdale about 15 years, and have taken their Ag program from very simple to extraordinary!
The Rodeo, the barn & animals, and the bed project have all been amazing. You are the Hub for all of the sponsors, materials/supplies donation, time management, and in the midst of it all, teaching. You did not just teach them how to build a bed. You taught them how to use something simple, to fill a need, with compassion. Your example shows them organization and leadership, which they can follow no matter where they go. I'm so happy that Life Changers realized how special you are. I'm proud to be called your friend.
Toni goes above and beyond for all of her students, past and present. I can't even put into words what she has meant to my children. She teaches more than a classroom and sends her students off with qualities they will carry for a lifetime!
Toni goes above and beyond for her students. She is not only a teacher, but she is a friend, mentor, and director. She spends her time directing the learning process of her classroom and giving student an opportunity to participate in their education. Teachers like Toni are few and far between!
Mrs. Buchanan is the epitome of a servant leader. The love and passion she has for her content, her students, and her community is an inspiration. Working in the classroom next door was one of the greatest service learning experiences of my teaching career. It was an honor and a privilege to serve our students with Toni.
Toni always puts her students first. She has taught them to put others first through community service projects that she has initated and worked diligently to get grants to support them. Because of her dedication she has full support of the Clarkdale Community.
Toni is a great person all around. It also shows with her children, they are as kind as she is. My daughter does not have her as a teacher and loves Mrs. B. Toni has so much love for all around her. She is dedicated to the students at Clarkdale, whether she has them as a student or not. She is an amazing person and she is very deserving of this award.
Toni truly cares about her students. Where other teachers only want information regurgitated from a book, Toni uses actual hands on opportunities. Through various sanctioned contest students learn team skills along with personal accomplishments. By being actively involved in FFA from the local club through the national organization students learn that there is more to life than just at school.
Toni embodies caring and commitment to others. She has taught her students the importance of community service and giving of themselves. She has touched so many lives in a positive way and continues her efforts every day.
Toni is a wonderful Agriculture Instructor & I have had the pleasure of working with her & the Ag & FFA students from Clarkdale. As one of the FFA Alumni members, I have traveled with her & her students on numerous occasions. The opportunity to travel & meet other students at state & National conventions have been life changing for her students. Her selflessness is apparent in the fact that she has 2 foster children. Having 4 children in the house is a handful but she handles it with ease & finds time to help deliver beds to those in need within the community guaranteeing that no child sleeps on the floor. Toni is an amazing teacher, mentor & friend. I applaud her efforts & the skills her students gained from her class afforded more than a dozen of her students to join the military & excel. For all of these things mentioned Ms B is a Life Changer & our children are better for having her as a teacher, & mentor.
The name of the award to be given.. Sums up Ms. B. ?
#lifechanger
I'm a parent of a junior
I had the pleasure to work with Toni many years ago. She had an outstanding work ethic then and I see it has only accelerated.
She is deserving of all the awards she has received! Congratulations Toni! Proud to call you a friend!
I had the awesome opportunity to student teach under Mrs. B in the spring of 2018. There is nothing she will not do for her family, school, and community. I learned so much from her from the short time I spent at Clarkdale & I still learn from her today!
Mrs.B is a wonderful dedicated teachers. I have watched her program soar. She uplifts and encourages her student to be the best. Toni goes beyond the class room to make a difference in her school and community. She is a role model for all who know her. She would be most deserving of this award.
I’m proud for Mrs. Buchanan to have been nominated for this honor! Not only does she change the lives of students, she changes the lives of her teaching colleagues. She shows by example how to impact a community and makes it easy to join in.
Toni goes above and beyond the call of teacher! She genuinely cares for her students and has a true love for agriculture. She not only teaches it but she lives it in her own life and her own home.
Mrs. Buchanan is definitely a life changer. I enrolled in her class as a junior in high school not sure what I wanted to do with my life or what career I would choose; she taught a two year agriculture and natural resources class. At the end of that first year, I decided to follow in Mrs. Buchanan’s footsteps and become an agriculture teacher/FFA advisor. Mrs. Buchanan taught me so much about agriculture, teaching, people, and life. She has had such an impact on me, and I hope when I teach, I am as good a teacher as her.
Toni will always go above and beyond to help others. She is a caring person that loves her students and gives her time to help them!
Toni and I are friends. She is one of the most loving and caring person I know. She goes above and beyond to help others. She has a special place in her heart for children. Is is nothing for her to do without( time and money) for other that are in need.
I have known her for about 5 yrs. She has a servant’s heart for sure! She has given so much to her community. I’m proud to call her a friend. She is so deserving of all the awards she has been given so far, and she is the definition of a life changer.
Toni is well deserving of this award. She selfishly gives of her time, talents, and her heart to not only two boys, but two foster daughters and our community through a bed project. Congrats on the nomination, Toni.
Toni is a life changer in so many ways. A hard worker, patient mother, faithful part of her church family and so much more.
Debbie Talley
Toni is the embodiment of selflessness! She has invested her life into her students. Her students are always involved in something, going somewhere, leadership training, camp, weekend retreat, state convention, nationals, competing in every category, showing animals, tool identification, speaking, welding, you name it - she has students competing in every category. I have told her more than once that I wish I had had the opportunity to be in her class - because of all the hands on learning - I truly feel like I missed out!!
Toni is the agriculture instructor and FFA sponsor in our school. I have had the privilege of getting to know her over the past 10+ years. My oldest son was in her class several years ago. He wasn't a straight A student, he didn't like school, and he had a learning disability. He was treated that way by most teachers but, not by Toni. She truly changed his life. She didn't see a kid with a learning disability or someone who didn't make good grades. She saw a hard worker and a determined person in him and she helped him see that person in himself. If it were not for Toni and a couple of other dedicated teachers I am not sure that my son would have graduated from high school. Now, 9 years later, my almost 27 year old son still goes to see her when he can. I have 3 other sons. All but the youngest have gone through Toni's program and that is only because he isn't old enough yet. All of them have shown livestock with her. Most of importantly, all 4 of them have benefited from having her in their lives. It really does take a village to raise a child and I am so blessed to have Toni in my village. The Alsobrooks love you Toni! Congratulations on this recognition!
I have had the pleasure of teaching Toni as part of our graduate program at Mississippi State University as well as working with her as a Cooperating Mentor Teacher for our Agricultural Education Student Teaching Program. She is a positive role model for future agricultural education teachers. Toni does an outstanding job of making sure future agricultural education teachers know how to integrate teaching, leadership, and workforce development into the complete community-based agricultural education program. I have seen a number of her students assume leadership roles in the community and at college, preparing them to become leaders in the agricultural industry. The leadership Toni has made to the community is something I have never seen before as she and her programs started an initiative to make sure kids have a bed to sleep in every night. The outpouring of support from the local community to help with this project is tremendous and as a result, other FFA programs in Mississippi have joined this initiative.
Toni was my son's 4-H Agent back in TN. When she moved back to MS, it was TN's loss, & MS's gain. She recently brought her FFA officers for tours of TN agriculture, on their way to National FFA Convention. They also conducted a workshop with a TN FFA chapter. She manages to make a trip to a convention into so much more of a true overall experience for her students, and for those in TN that they worked with.
Toni is an inspiration to her students and the community. She has started a food Bank at school with help of Her FFA students. Under her guidance the Yea students have built hundreds of beds so no child has to sleep on the floor. She also helped get a barn built at school for student learning experience with animals. She always helps anyone who needs help in the community. Toni is a very caring an giving individual. Hope she receives the honor of changes of the year.
Toni has made a difference in people’s lives and has taught her students the importance of giving back. She has been a wonderful role model and goes above and beyond what is required of her.
Toni is an awesome teacher. She is dedicated to her students and cares deeply that they learn life skills along with academics. She strives to equip her students with the ability to be well rounded individuals who have compassion and respect for others.
It has been an honor to serve as Mrs. Buchanan’s student teacher throughout the past semester. She has truly exemplified the roles of an educator, inside and outside of the classroom. Within the classroom, students are inspired to become the best versions of themselves. Students who spend time in her classroom learn how to become better people, who serve their community. Many students often visit the classroom to reflect on the life long lessons they learned during their time as her students. I look forward to seeing the continued lives that are changed through time spent with Mrs. Buchanan.
Congratulations!! I cannot think of someone more deserving. You have done so much for your students and our community. I’m so proud of you!!
Congratulations, Toni. You deserve this with all that your heart has. You pour into everyone with love and concern. Thanks for all you do!!
